Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment - Scenarios for the 21st Century

Softcover  XII + 376 pp, 35 figs., 7 in colour  ISBN 0387952861      £39.00

The scientific community has voiced two general concerns about the future of the earth. Climatologists and oceanographers have focused on the changes in our physical environment changes in the climate, the oceans, and the chemistry of the air we breathe. Environmental biologists, on the other hand, have addressed issues of conservation and the extinction of species. There is increasing evidence that these two broad concerns are intertwined and mutually dependent. Past changes in biodiversity have both responded to and caused changes in Earth's environment. In its discussions of ten key terrestrial biomes and freshwater ecosystems, this volume uses our broad understanding of global environmental change to present the first comprehensive scenarios of biodiversity for the twentyfirst century. Combining physical earth science with conservation biology, Future Scenarios of Global Biodiversity provides a starting point for regional assessments on all scales. The book will be of interest to those concerned with guiding research on the changing environment of the earth and with planning future policy, especially in accordance with the Global Biodiversity Convention.

Contents:

• The Future of Biodiversity in a Changing World.
• Modeling the Response of Vegetation Distribution and Biodiversity to Climate Change.
• The Use of Global Change Scenarios to Determine Changes in Species and Habitats.
• Soil Biodiversity.
• Arctic and Alpine Tundra.
• Tropical Savanna.
• Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems.
• Deserts.
• Temperate Forests of North And South America.
• Tropical Forests.
• Lakes.
• Fish Diversity in Streams and Rivers.
• Conclusions and Synthesis.

Series: Ecological Studies. VOL. 152