Perspectives for Biodiversity and Ecosystems
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Beschreibung:
The novelty of the book is a strong focus on perception, perspectives and prediction by scientists with profound insight into the ecology of ecosystems or into human demands and activity. The challenge is to bridge from empirical data and the knowledge of the past to the possibilities of the performance in the future. We assume that there is scope for more cooperation between the fields of ecology and practical philosophy or other social sciences in organising ecosystems and shaping the cultural future of humankind, and that such collaboration should be accorded considerably more priority.
This book deals with environmental processes seen within a framework of the nature of ecosystems and human cultures. The future of the environment, the development of ecosystems and effective nature conservation management are the essentials of this book. Human nature and culture, and in particular their interactions, are interpreted as a set of rules and as given. The aim is not only to assess the significance of human influence on species composition and biodiversity but also to weigh up the subsequent potentials for action. In this book we will analyze the problems independently of one another, even if they are interconnected.This book focuses on perspectives and prognoses for the impacts of anthropogenic activity on ecosystems and thus on species conservation. Its goal is to improve assessments of the impacts of human activity on the environment. We are aware that prognoses have very often proven to be false. It is difficult to impossible to be able to predict with precision how evolution and ecosystems will change in future under anthropogenic influence. This strengthens our resolve to attempt to retain the highest possible degree of scientific integrity and professionalism and not to shy away from expressing the uncertainty of our own ideas and prognoses. We venture prognoses in this book and we will fail. However, we hope that we will be wrong on the right side.
Chapter 1. Environmental History.- Chapter 2. Nature-Culture Dichotomy and Environmental Consciousness: Do We Fear the Right Things?.- Chapter 3. History of Environmental Communication and Education.- Chapter 4. Resources for Humans, Plants and Animals: Who is the Ruler of the Driver? And: Can Resource Use Explain Everything?.- Chapter 5. A Framework for Evaluation of Normative Solutions to Environmental Problems.- Chapter 6. Between Economic Valuation and Environmental Evaluation: Arguing about Environmental Value Systems.- Chapter 7. Environmental Indicators and Biodiversity Conservation Strategies.- Chapter 8. Change in Time: Risks and Predictability.- Chapter 9. Economies on Top, Nature on the Brink? A Closer Look on the Relationship between Economic Power and Threatened Nature.- Chapter 10. From Onlookers to Ecosystem-assistants: Exploring the Potentials of Ecological Restoration Education.- Chapter 11. Distribution and Habitat Affinity of Endemic and Threatened Species - Global Assessment.- Chapter 12. Coastal Habitats, Shallow Seas and Inland Saline Steppes - Ecology, Distribution, Threats and Challenges.- Chapter 13. Wetlands - Challenges and Possibilities.- Chapter 14. Development and Future of Grassland Ecosystems – Do We Need a Paradigm Shift?.- Chapter 15. Heathland, Scrub and Savanna - Overview, Recent Trends and Outlook.- Chapter 16. Forest Ecosystems: a Functional and Biodiversity Perpective.- Chapter 17. The Future of Agricultural Land.- Chapter 18. Urban Habitats: Cities and Their Potential for Nature Protection.- Chapter 19. Land Use Change and the Future of Biodiversity.