tailieunhanh - Ecosystems Second edition Gordon Dickinson and Kevin Murphy

The last few years have witnessed tremendous changes in the syllabi of environmentally related courses at Advanced Level and in tertiary education. Moreover, there have been major alterations in the way degree and diploma courses are organised in colleges and universities. Syllabus changes reflect the increasing interest in environmental issues, their significance in a political context and their increasing relevance in everyday life. Consequently, the ‘environment’ has become a focus not only in courses traditionally concerned with geography, environmental science and ecology but also in agriculture, economics, politics, law, sociology, chemistry, physics, biology and philosophy. Simultaneously, changes in course organisation have occurred in order to facilitate both generalisation and. | ECOSYSTEMS Gordon Dickinson Kevin Murphy SECOND EDITION Ecosystems Since the first edition of this book was published in 1998 the role of ecosystems in understanding the environmental challenges faced by humankind has grown significantly. The ecosystem is the key concept in understanding the vital links between life and its environment that lie at the core of these challenges. The second edition of Ecosystems explains the basic concepts that make up ecosystem theory and examines the ways in which the concept can help the investigation of environmental problems. The new edition has been revised and updated throughout to reflect the latest developments. It includes a new chapter on the world pattern of biomes and enhanced use of functional ecology in the assessment of ecosystem functioning. Ecosystem theory is first set in the context of functional ecology itself a fundamental paradigm in contemporary ecology. Following a review of the historical development and refinement of the ecosystem concept the authors explain how ecosystems function through analysis of the complex interactions between life and its physical environment. Using examples from around the world the book addresses real world problems. Ecosystems looks at the ways that this can be done at a range of scales and analyses practical applications of the ecosystem concept. The increasing value of the ecosystem concept is demonstrated through its applications. This updated edition explains the nature of the ecosystem concept the functional roles of ecosystems the ways in which it relates to functional ecology and its paramount value in the analysis of environmental problems. The book is illustrated throughout with boxes figures tables and plates. Gordon Dickinson is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences. Kevin Murphy is Senior Lecturer in the Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences both at the University of Glasgow. Routledge