Title: Quaternary Vegetation Dynamics: The African Pollen Database (Palaeoecology of Africa)
Publisher: CRC Press
Publication Date: 2021
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0367755084
ISBN 13: 9780367755089
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

This book celebrates the relaunch of the African Pollen Database, presents state-of-the-art of modern and ancient pollen data from sub-Saharan Africa, and promotes Open Access science. Pollen grains are powerful tools for the study of past vegetation dynamics because they preserve well within sedimentary deposits and have a huge diversity in ornamentation that allows different taxa to be determined. The reconstruction of past vegetation from the examination of ancient pollen records thus can be used to characterize the nature of past landscapes (e.g. abundance of forests vs. grasslands), provide insights into changes in biodiversity, and gain empirical evidence of vegetation response to climatic change and human activity. In this, the 35th Volume of "Palaeoecology of Africa", we bring together new data and extensive synthetic reviews to provide novel insights into the relationships between human evolution, human activity, climate change and vegetation dynamics during the Quaternary, the last 2.6 million years. Current and ongoing climate and land-use change is exerting pressure on modern vegetation formations and threatening the livelihoods and wellbeing of many peoples in Africa. In this book the focus is on the Quaternary because it is during this geological period that the modern vegetation formations developed into their current configurations against a backdrop of high magnitude global climate change (glacial-interglacial cycles), human evolution, and a growing human land-use footprint. In this book the latest information is presented and collated from around the African continent to parameterize past vegetation states, identify the drivers of vegetation change, and assess the vegetation resilience to change. To achieve this research from two broad themes are covered: (i) the present is the key to the past (i.e. studies which improve our understanding of modern environments so that we can better interpret evidence from the past), and (ii) the past is the key to the future (i.e. studies which unlock information on how and why vegetation changed in the past so one can better anticipate trajectories of future change).
This Open Access book will provide a strong foundation for future research exploring past ecological, environmental and climatic change within Africa and the surrounding islands. The book is organized regionally (covering western, eastern, central, and southern Africa) and it contains specialized articles focused on particular topics (such as modern pollen-vegetation relationships and fire as a driver of vegetation change), as well as regional and pan-African syntheses drawing together decades of research to assess key scientific questions (including the role of climate in driving vegetation change and the role of vegetation change in human evolution). These articles will be useful to students and teachers from high school to the highest level of university who are interested in the origins and dynamics of vegetation in Africa. Furthermore, it is also meant to provide societally relevant information that can act as an inspiration for the development of sustainable management practices for the future.

About the Author

J�rgen Runge is a Professor of Physical Geography and Geoecology at the Goethe-University Frankfurt, Germany. He is the director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary African Studies (ZIAF). As an environmentalist and consultant, he has worked for many years in West and Central Africa on the evolution of tropical landscapes, former and recent climate changes. He is the editor of the series "Palaeoecology of Africa" and a member in several scientific editorial boards. The outcome of his studies has been used for regional planning (land use, infrastructure, management of natural resources). From 2007-2010 he was working for the German International Cooperation (GIZ) leading a subregional project on geological resources, transparency and good governance in Africa. Currently, he is involved in capacity development measures such as international summer schools and training workshops.

William D. Gosling is an Associate Professor in Palaeoecology at the University of Amsterdam and Head of the Department of Ecosystem & Landscape Dynamics. Throughout his research and education William seeks to place current concerns related to on-going, and projected, climate change into a long-term context by examining multiple aspects of the sedimentary record of past environmental change. He is an expert in tropical pollen and environmental change during the Quaternary (last 2.6 million years). He seeks to gain insights into past ecosystem function through combining regional vegetation histories generated from pollen records obtained from sedimentary archives with other lines of evidence, including: ancient charcoal (fire history), phytoliths (local vegetation change), and organic geochemistry (plant response to environmental change). William has been working on African projects since 2007 when he was invited to join the team investigating the sedimentary core recovered from Lake Bosumtwi (Ghana). Unravelling the complex pollen record from Bosumwti lead William to spend time working with one of the pioneers of palaeoecology in Africa, the late Prof. Daniel Livingstone, and to establishing a modern pollen trapping program across the forest-savannah vegetation gradient in West Africa.

Anne-Marie L�zine is senior scientist at the French National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris. As a specialist in past vegetation dynamics and climate reconstructions from pollen and hydrological data she has a about 40-years of experience in tropical Africa and surrounding regions. Trained in Marseille (France) where she got her PhD in 1987, she initially studied the Holocene environments of Ethiopia. Then she focused her research on arid (deserts from the Sahara (Mauritania, Algeria, Chad) and the Rub al Khali (Yemen, Oman)) and semi-arid regions (Senegal). Since 2007, she has been moving towards the Equator. Her studies include the 90,000 years long pollen record of Lake Bambili, and other lake deposits from the Cameroon highlands. Her studies have been used for biome, land cover and climate reconstructions. Apart from her scientific skill, Anne-Marie is the coordinator of the African Pollen Database since its early beginning in 1994.

Louis Scott is a researcher and mentor at the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Following initial research on Cretaceous pollen and spores, he graduated in 1979 under E. M. van Zinderen Bakker and J. A. Coetzee, previous editors of PoA, with a PhD in Botany at the University of the Free State with a dissertation on late Quaternary fossil pollen from thermal spring and swamp deposits from the Limpopo and Gauteng provinces, South Africa. Following an early sabbatical in Tucson, at the University of Arizona, and a research visit to Marion Island, Southern Ocean, he continued to study Quaternary and older palaeoenvironments in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana. His studies include long pollen records from the Tswaing Crater lake, hominid and other cave deposits, hyena coprolites and fossil hyrax dung middens.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

Hello! Ria Christie Collections is an online venture that was initially set up in 2012 to sell books. We do not have a physical high street store. We are professional online booksellers. We only sell brand new books in perfect condition that we source from various suppliers and the publishers. Primarily, our aim is to provide an excellent service to all our customers. We always work as a team to achieve this. Our other objectives are to: 1. Ensure that all our products reach their destination quickly in a safe and secure manner 2. Answer to all our customer queries within 24 hours 3. Ensure that our customers are happy with their purchases 4. Provide all the items at a competitive price 5. Always listen to our customers Ria Christie Collections is not a registered company. It is a Sole Trader venture. Other key information is shown below: Contact Person Name: Rakesh Luchmun (Mr) Storefront Name: Ria Christie Collections Place of Establishment Address: Suite B; ARUN House; ARUN Building Arundel Road Uxbridge UB8 2RR United Kingdom E-Mail Address: riachristie@hotmail.co.uk VAT Number: GB 160 5650 25 We always work hard and aim to comply with all of Abebooks Policies. If you have any issues, please do not hesitate to write to us whether before or after a purchase. We promise to reply to you promptly and, in any case, within 24 hours. Thank you kindly! Yours sincerely Mr Rakesh Luchmun (Founder) and the Ria Christie Collections Team

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

Ryefield Investments Limited
175 Pield Heath Road, Uxbridge, UB8 3NL, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

All Returns and Refund are as per Abebooks policies.

Right of cancellation

If you are a consumer you can cancel the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.

INFORMATION REGARDING THE RIGHT OF CANCELLATION

Statutory Right to cancel

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The cancellation period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the the last good or the last lot or piece.

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us, Ria Christie Collections, Suite B; (inside) ARUN House; ARUN, Arundel Road; Uxbridge Ind Est, UB8 2RR, Uxbridge, United Kingdom, +44 7727654838, of your decision to cancel this contract by a clear statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model cancellation form, but it is not obligatory. You can also electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". If you use this option, we will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a cancellation on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.

To meet the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right to cancel before the cancellation period has expired.

Effects of cancellation

If you cancel this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).

We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.

We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to cancel with contract.

We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us or Ria Christie Collections, Suite B; (inside) ARUN House; ARUN Building, Arundel Road; Uxbridge Ind Est, UB8 2RR, Uxbridge, United Kingdom, +44 7727654838, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your cancellation from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

Exceptions to the right of cancellation

The right of cancellation does not apply to:

the delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
the supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not cancel it once delivery had started.

Model withdrawal form

(complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

To: (Ria Christie Collections, Suite B; (inside) ARUN House; ARUN, Arundel Road; Uxbridge Ind Est, UB8 2RR, Uxbridge, United Kingdom, +44 7727654838)

I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract of sale of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following goods (*)/for the provision of the following service (*),

Ordered on (*)/received on (*)

Name of consumer(s)

Address of consumer(s)

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper)

Date

* Delete as appropriate.

Shipping Terms

Orders usually ship within 2 business days. If your book order is heavy or oversized, we may contact you to let you know extra shipping is required. Thank you!

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Order quantity	6 to 12 business days	6 to 12 business days
First item	� 11.98	� 11.98

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.