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A multidisciplinary and multifaceted approach is employed to identify principal ecosystems and natural resources in the U.S. Great Plains that are at risk and that should receive priority for protection. The authors are drawn from a variety of disciplines and approaches, their ideas being presented as a pooling or harvest, rather than as a consensus. The 25 chapters provide background and in-depth discussion of multiple issues/problems related to Great Plains stewardship for future generations. The status and trends of major resources of the Great Plains within an historical, ecological and management framework are categorized according to common goals across the disciplines and can be used to make recommendations for public policy, research and development, and institutions. The challenge for residents of the Great Plains is to merge multiple ecosystem concepts to improve the environment and to improve economic vitality.
The frontier images of America embrace endless horizons, majestic herds of native ungulates, and romanticized life-styles of nomadie peoples. The images were mere reflections of vertebrates living in harmony in an ecosystem driven by the unpre dictable local and regional effects of drought, frre, and grazing. Those effects, often referred to as ecological "disturbanees," are rather the driving forces on which species depended to create the spatial and temporal heterogeneity that favored ecological prerequisites for survival. Alandscape viewed by European descendants as monotony interrupted only by extremes in weather and commonly referred to as the "Great American Desert," this country was to be rushed through and cursed, a barrier that hindered access to the deep soils of the Oregon country, the rich minerals of California and Colorado, and the religious freedom sought in Utah. Those who stayed (for lack of resources or stamina) spent a century trying to moderate the ecological dynamics of Great Plains prairies by suppressing fires, planting trees and exotic grasses, poisoning rodents, diverting waters, and homogenizing the dynamies of grazing with endless fences-all creating bound an otherwise boundless vista. aries in Historically, travelers and settlers referred to the area of tallgrasses along the western edge of the deciduous forest and extending midway across Kansas as the "True Prairie. " The grasses thlnned and became shorter to the west, an area known then as the Great Plains.
This comprehensive guide of legumes of the Great Plains includes an in-depth description of 114 species with illustrations and distribution maps. It includes more than one hundred similar species with a description of how each differs from the main species.
Designed to help students understand the multiple levels at which human populations respond to their surroundings, this essential text offers the most complete discussion of environmental, physiological, behavioral, and cultural adaptive strategies available. Among the unique features that make Human Adaptability outstanding as both a textbook for students and a reference book for professionals are a complete discussion of the development of ecological anthropology and relevant research methods; the use of an ecosystem approach with emphasis on arctic, high altitude, arid land, grassland, tropical rain forest, and urban environments; an extensive and updated bibliography on ecological anthropology; and a comprehensive glossary of technical terms. - There is enhanced emphasis throughout on the role of gender in human adaptability research and on global environmental change as it affects particular ecosystems. - Students are guided to websites that provide access to relevant material, complement the text's coverage of biomes, and suggest ways to become active in environmental issues. - The fourth edition includes updated material on climate change and environmental policy. This book is essential reading for students undertaking courses in environmental anthropology and human ecology.
This book focuses on mechanisms of human adaptability. It integrates findings from ecology, physiology, social anthropology, and geography around a set of problems or constraints posed by human habitats.
Examines the state of environmental and natural resource policy in the 17 Western states; 1) establish environmental priorities; 2) create better pricing signals; 3)encourage voluntary initiatives; 4) work across political boundaries and within ecosystems; and 5) resolve disputes without litigation. Includes photographs.
A vast swath of prairie situated between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, the North American Great Plains extend across ten states in the United States and three provinces in Canada. The dominant vegetation is grass—both the native species that have long thrived here and the cultivated crops such as corn, wheat, and sorghum that are the result of human agricultural activity. This comprehensive guide, written by three grass specialists, is an invaluable tool for identification of the approximately 450 species of grasses that occur on the Great Plains. In each description, the authors cover distribution, habitat, forage value, and toxicity and include a detailed black-and-white illustration of the grass as well as a range map. Intended as a reference for landowners, rangeland specialists, students, state and federal agency professionals, and nongovernment conservation organizations, Grasses of the Great Plains will serve a wide audience of users involved in and dedicated to grassland management.
Report provides information on distribution, abundance, and health of birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, fishes, invertebrates, plants, terrestrial ecosystems, aquatic ecosystems, coastal and marine ecosystems, riparian ecosystems, the Great Plains, Interior West, Alaska, and Hawaii. It also discusses special issues: global climate change, human influences, non-native species, and habitat assessments.