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-- Lance Gunderson, Emory University

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Human well-being relies critically on ecosystem services provided by nature. Examples include water and air quality regulation, nutrient cycling and decomposition, plant pollination and flood control, all of which are dependent on biodiversity. They are predominantly public goods with limited or no markets and do not command any price in the conventional economic system, so their loss is often not detected and continues unaddressed and unabated. This in turn not only impacts human well-being, but also seriously undermines the sustainability of the economic system.

It is against this background that TEEB: The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity project was set up in 2007 and led by the United Nations Environment Programme to provide a comprehensive global assessment of economic aspects of these issues. This book, written by a team of international experts, represents the scientific state of the art, providing a comprehensive assessment of the fundamental ecological and economic principles of measuring and valuing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and showing how these can be mainstreamed into public policies.

This volume and subsequent TEEB outputs will provide the authoritative knowledge and guidance to drive forward the biodiversity conservation agenda for the next decade. ... Read more

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How will biodiversity loss affect ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services, and human well-being?

In an age of accelerating biodiversity loss, this timely and critical volume summarizes recent advances in biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research and explores the economics of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The book starts by summarizing the development of the basic science and provides a meta-analysis that quantitatively tests several biodiversity and ecosystem functioning hypotheses. It then describes the natural science foundations of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research including: quantifying functional diversity, the development of the field into a predictive science, the effects of stability and complexity, methods to quantify mechanisms by which diversity affects functioning, the importance of trophic structure, microbial ecology, and spatial dynamics. Finally, the book takes research on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning further than it has ever gone into the human dimension, describing the most pressing environmental challenges that face humanity and the effects of diversity on: climate change mitigation, restoration of degraded habitats, managed ecosystems, pollination, disease, and biological invasions.

However, what makes this volume truly unique are the chapters that consider the economic perspective. These include a synthesis of the economics of ecosystem services and biodiversity, and the options open to policy-makers to address the failure of markets to account for the loss of ecosystem services; an examination of the challenges of valuing ecosystem services and, hence, to understanding the human consequences of decisions that neglect these services; and an examination of the ways in which economists are currently incorporating biodiversity and ecosystem functioning research into decision models for the conservation and management of biodiversity. A final section describes new advances in ecoinformatics that will help transform this field into a globally predictive science, and summarizes the advancements and future directions of the field. The ultimate conclusion is that biodiversity is an essential element of any strategy for sustainable development. ... Read more

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Today's natural resource managers must be able to navigate among the complicated interactions and conflicting interests of diverse stakeholders and decisionmakers. Technical and scientific knowledge, though necessary, are not sufficient. Science is merely one component in a multifaceted world of decision making. And while the demands of resource management have changed greatly, natural resource education and textbooks have not. Until now.

Ecosystem Management represents a different kind of textbook for a different kind of course. It offers a new and exciting approach that engages students in active problem solving by using detailed landscape scenarios that reflect the complex issues and conflicting interests that face today's resource managers and scientists. Focusing on the application of the sciences of ecology and conservation biology to real-world concerns, it emphasizes the intricate ecological, socioeconomic, and institutional matrix in which natural resource management functions, and illustrates how to be more effective in that challenging arena.

Each chapter is rich with exercises to help facilitate problem-based learning. The main text is supplemented by boxes and figures that provide examples, perspectives, definitions, summaries, and learning tools, along with a variety of essays written by practitioners with on-the-ground experience in applying the principles of ecosystem management.

Accompanying the textbook is an instructor's manual that provides a detailed overview of the book and specific guidance on designing a course around it.

Ecosystem Management grew out of a training course developed and presented by the authors for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at its National Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. In 20 offerings to more than 600 natural resource professionals, the authors learned a great deal about what is needed to function successfully as a professional resource manager. The book offers important insights and a unique perspective dervied from that invaluable experience. ... Read more

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Great Summary of Ecosystem Management Concepts
If you are interested in Ecosystem Managment, than you probably have heard of most of the concepts in this book.However, this book provides a good easy to read (and easy to understand) summary of concepts related to Ecosystem Managment.

A highly recommended contribution to Environmental Studies
The collective and collaborative effort of Gary K. Meffe (Adjunct Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida), Larry A. Nielsen (Fisheries biologist and Den of the College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University), Richard L. Knight (Professor of Wildlife Conservation, Colorado State University), and Dennis A. Schenborn (Chief of Planning and Budget for the Bureau of Fisheries Management and Habitat protection of the Wisconsin State Department of Natural Resources), Ecosystem Management: Adaptive, Community- Based Conservation is an intelligently organized, "reader friendly" textbook which is an ideal resource and teaching tool for discusses a wide range of environmental issues including: genetic diversity in ecosystem management, landscape-level conservation, single-species land management, the skill and art of keeping fragile ecosystems in balance; methodology, examples, and mathematical models. An astute presented and detailed college-level text, Ecosystem Management is a welcome and highly recommended contribution to Environmental Studies reference collections in general, and Ecosystem Management curriculum reading lists in particular. ... Read more

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A substantial and scholarly publication
A massive information gathering project of The H. John Heinz III center for Science, Economics and the Environment and published by Island Press, "The State Of The Nation's Ecosystems 2008: Measuring The Lands, Waters, And Living Resources Of The United States" is a comprehensive, meticulous, informative, seminal, and up-to-date compilation of facts and information on America's myriad and diverse ecosystems including the flora and fauna that abide in them. From the country's coasts and oceans, to its farmlands, forests, fresh water systems, grasslands and shrublands, as well as urban and suburban landscapes, "The State Of The Nation's Ecosystems 2008" provides basic data enhanced with charts, maps, and full color photography. A major contribution to professional, governmental, and academic library Environmental Studies & Planning reference collection, "The State Of The Nation's Ecosystems 2008" is a substantial and scholarly publication, and will prove to be of continuing interest and utility for anyone seeking reliable information on American ecosystems as they are functioning today.
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Hailed as a landmark account of how we organize ourselves for work, this wise, experience-tested book looks to nature as the model for how things work in the modern business world. Rothschild's anecdote-rich text challenges traditional thinking with a fresh vision of economics as a self-organizing system that is as natural as life itself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Brilliant
If it is true that a great artist will make you see things in a new way, then Michael Rothschild is a Picasso and Bionomics must be his tour de force. For me it was wonderful for several reasons. First, it's easy and fun to read. Second, it's presented in such a beautifully organized fashion, that whether you agree with Rothchild or not, you are very likely to appreciate his exquisite use of logic as he shows why free-market capitalism, like other ecosystems, is a healthy, naturally occurring phenomenon. Finally, the book is full of interesting, different, and memorable examples that simultaneously explain basic evolutionary process and why it's a good idea to keep government from meddling with free markets. Amazingly, my favorite biology book and my favorite business book are now the same book.

Outstanding - and see also....
This is an outstanding book that opened up the whole idea of basing economics on the living sciences rather than physics...

If you find this book interesting, you should also look at the more recent (2004) book "Economia" by Australian scientist Geoff Davies.The book is unfortunately not listed on Amazon, but a search on Google will turn up numerous reviews and an excerpt for those interested.

Still relevant after all these years
This is one of the seminal works of the new economy long before the internet exploded and the term was coined. It is a landmark synthesis of technology and economics that remains unmatched 10 years after its release. A long list of industry heavyweights praised this effort at the time, it continues to merit this praise today. Here is an excerpt in Rothschild's own words:

"Capitalism, or the market economy, or the free enterprise system-or whatever you choose to label it-was not planned. Like life on earth, it did not need to be. Capitalism just happened, and it will keep on happening. Quite spontaneously. Capitalism flourishes whenever it is not suppressed, because it is a naturally occurring phenomenon. It is human society organizing itself for survival in a world of limited resources..."Having said all that, it is obvious that what the author presents is a very interesting set of ideas as opposed to a 'movement' of sorts. You can find faults with his technical analysis and conclusions and still come away with some genuine pearls.

This book is excellent.
This is a wonderfully rich book in describing modern economics using the principals of the biology. It makes the most basic economic principals understood by using the theories of evolution. It should be required reading for Economic students (it would have been great to have this book in my Econ classes). The book also provides some excellent history of economic thought, the history of evolution, history of the stream driving motor, and more.

I would highly recommend it even though there are some parts where Rothschild uses slightly bias language to make his points (particularly about the saving rates in the U.S.). I have the version that was written in 1990. It was be especially interesting to read the updated version, especially given everything that has happen during the 1990s.

Rothschild, Congratulations on an excellent book.-matthew@mkaz.com

Wrong model for progress.
I learned some interesting things from this book, especially about the role of the Experience Curve in dramatically driving down the prices of new products.

Unfortunately the overall view seems to offer wrong-headed advice for solving our problems.

One, in nature ecosystems don't grow productive without limit.Liebig's Law constrains how much biomass a given environment can support, beyond which there can be only change within limits (or drift between attractors, in chaos theory terms), but not "boundless expansion."Presumably people who want to find a model for economic progress wouldn't want our economy to top off at some level of production and then stagnate, which is what we see in natural ecosystems.

Two, while Rothschild presents the Experience Curve as a refutation of the Principle of Diminishing Returns, in reality it is just a delayed form of that dismal principle.You might drive down the cost of a new product quite easily through several doublings in the experience you've acquired in producing it.But most of the products we depend on -- especially electricity and fossil fuels -- have such enormous amounts of experience behind their production already that you'd have to wait for many decades or even centuries before the next doubling has accumulated and worked it cost-reducing effect.Instead we see a diminishing return on cost reduction from each unit of experience, at least on the kind of timescale we have to deal with today.

Three, Rothschild apparently has no clue that in the real American economy, the overwhelming majority of people don't produce or handle tangible goods for a living, but instead work in non-productive, or worse, counter-productive, "services."Retail clerks and restaurant workers outnumber factory workers in the U.S. these days, yet these personal-service jobs don't create real wealth, and resist becoming more efficient because of the nature of human social interaction....Presumably a bionomic view of the economy could account for parasitism, as in natural ecosystems, yet Rothschild doesn't seem to understand how serious a threat the "service sector" is to genuine progress.

And four, the libertarian cult status this book has attained among "New Economy" cranks probably has contributed tothe mess the U.S. economy is in now.(The first edition was published in the early 1990's, just in time to wreak its intellectual and practical damage.) Between the anti-progress successes of the Left, and the Right's taxophobic, anti-government agenda and infatuations with meretricious New Economy and globalist free-trade theories, the U.S. has begun the New Millennium with a rapidly deteriorating infrastructure, energy shortages, deindustrialization and other problems that a reasonable grasp of reality could have prevented.... ... Read more

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Great planner for students and teachers!
I got this planner for a teacher that I know. It is a a nice medium-sized planner, a bit taller than a paperback book, so that it is easy to carry.

This planner is made in the USA of recycled paper and uses plant-based inks. The covers are flexible, yet sturdy and the binding seems fine (though I personally prefer spirals since they can lie flat - this has a "book" binding and does not stay open). I love that the corners are rounded and that it has an elastic band to hold it closed - since I put it in my purse and backpack, it will not get as damaged. As a bonus, it also has a fabric ribbon marker to mark the current page, instead of using other methods to keep track of the week.

This (2011) calender has a two-page 2011 as well as a two-page 2012 overview (with no space to write anything). I then has monthly views showing two months on a page for January 2011-December 2012. Next are a few pages of extras including a travel log, US time-zone map, websites for airlines and others, world time-zone map, international dialing codes US & Canada area codes, website log and conversions. There are then weekly pages with a notes page for every week from June 28, 2010 through January 1, 2012. There are then a few pages for notes and the back cover has a pocket to add the companies extra insert pages or put some business cards in. There is also a code that you can register on their website in case your planner gets lost.

It has just about every US, Canadian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim holiday I know of as well as others (for example, Tish B'Av and Muhammad's birthday, just to name two).

I would recommend this for anyone needing a financial or academic year calendar, as you have the bonus of being able to plan ahead six-months in the weekly section and a year and a half in the monthly section. I think it would also be great as a calendar year planner with a six-month "history" in the weekly section and a full year in the monthly section.
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Over one third of the earth's terrestrial surface is situated in the tropics, with environments ranging from hot deserts to tropical rain forests. This introductory textbook, aimed at students studying tropical ecology, provides a comprehensive guide to the major tropical biomes and is unique in its balanced coverage of both aquatic and terrestrial systems. The volume considers the human ecological dimension, covering issues such as population growth, urbanization, agriculture and fisheries, natural resource use, and pollution. It is international in scope and addresses global issues such as conservation of biodiversity, climate change, and the concept of ecological sustainability.The text is supported throughout by boxes containing supplementary material on a range of topics and organisms, mathematical concepts and calculations, and is enlivened with clear line diagrams, maps, and photographs. A cross-referenced glossary, extensive bibliography, and comprehensive index are included as further aids to study. ... Read more

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Fire is both an integral natural process in the California landscape and growing threat to its urban and suburban developments as they encroach on wildlands. Written by many of the foremost authorities on the subject, this comprehensive volume, an ideal text and authoritative reference tool, is the first to synthesize our knowledge of the science, ecology, and management of fire in California. Part I introduces the basics of fire ecology. It includes an historical overview of fire, vegetation, and climate in California; overviews of fire as a physical and ecological process; and reviews the interactions between fire and the physical, plant, and animal components of the environment. Part II explores the history and ecology of fire in each of California's nine bioregions. Part III examines fire management in California, including both Native American and post-European settlement; discusses current issues related to fire policy and management, including air quality, watershed management, invasive plant species, native species, and fuel management; and considers the future of fire management. ... Read more

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Fire Ecology
Great fireecology for California fires. It covers many attributes of fire and processes that involve potential fire fuel. The book covers the water cycle, wind cycle, and soil characteristics. I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in learning more about wildland fire. ... Read more

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Ecosystem services are limited and hence threatened by over-exploitation, and there is an urgent imperative to evaluate trade-offs between immediate and long-term human needs and to take action to protect biodiversity, which is a key factor in delivering ecosystem services. To help inform decision-makers, economic value is increasingly being associated with many ecosystem services and is often based on the replacement with anthropogenic alternatives. The on-going challenges of maintaining sustainable ecosystems and prescribing economic value to nature is prompting multi-disciplinary shifts in how we recognise and manage the environment.

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Begon, Townsend and Harper’s Ecology has long been regarded as the definitive textbook on all aspects of ecology. This new edition continues to provide a comprehensive treatment of the subject from the first principles of ecology to a vivid reflection of our understanding of ecology in the 21st century.

Thoroughly revised and updated, this fourth edition includes:

three new chapters on applied ecology, reflecting a rigorous, scientific approach to the ecological problems now facing mankind discussion of over 750 new studies, updating the text throughout an updated, user-friendly design with margin notes and chapter summaries that serve as study aids dedicated websiteThe resulting textbook is easy to use, lucid and up-to-date, and is the essential reference for all students whose degree program includes ecology and for practising ecologists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

never received
It should arrive in May. Never received, I sent 2 e-mails to seller, no answer. Hard to contact anyone at amazon.com. I am very disappointed, really frustrated with amazon site. I will consider very seriously before buy here again.

An Essential Book in Ecology
This book is simply necessary for those who pretend to learn and understand ecology. It's very well written and treats all the mandatory topics in ecology. As an extremely complex science, ecology needs a direct and clear approach and few authors can do that the same way Begon and his colleagues do. The book has a pleasant reading and is full with context examples; it brings the most recent issues in ecology as the functional ecology view of the communities and its relationship with the environment.

GOOD FOR SCIENCE OLYMPIAD!
I may be the only person reviewing this book who's not in college.Anyway, I ordered this book because I needed to study for an event in science olympiad dealing with ecology.Ever since I received it, I have gotten first place at every tournament!The plethora of real-world examples in this book were very helpful.My only problem with it were the "illustrations". Come on, diagrams? Maybe... but illustrations? NO WAY!Except a few here and there.I also didn't like how all the diagrams were the exact same color.

good, solid review of Ecology
I'm a grad student in ecology, and this book is a wonderful review of the subject.The writing is straightforward and includes lots of examples from the scientific literature.

It's well written and has many levels, so it would be just as valuable for an undergrad with an interest in ecology as it is for the grad student boning up for qualifying exams (me!).Much better than comparable ecology books that I used as an undergraduate. ... Read more

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Most large herbivores require some type of management within their habitats. Some populations of large herbivores are at the brink of extinction, some are under discussion for reintroduction, whilst others already occur in dense populations causing conflicts with other land use. Large herbivores are the major drivers for forming the shape and function of terrestrial ecosystems. This book addresses the scientifically based action plans to manage both the large herbivore populations and their habitats worldwide. It covers the processes by which large herbivores not only affect their environment (e.g. grazing) but are affected by it (e.g. nutrient cycling) and the management strategies required. Also discussed are new modeling techniques, which help assess integration processes in a landscape context, as well as assessing the consequences of new developments in the processes of conservation. This book will be essential reading for all involved in the management of both large herbivores and natural resources. ... Read more

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This volume focuses on interaction between vegetation, relief, climate, soil and fauna in the treeline ecotone, and the effects of climate change and land use in North America and Europe.

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Ocean and coastal management regimes areincreasingly subject to competing demands fromstakeholders. Regulations must not only addressfishing, recreation, and shipping, but also sand andgravel mining, gas pipelines, harbor/port development,offshore wind and tidal energy facilities, liquefied natural gas terminals, offshoreaquaculture, and desalinization plants. The growing variety and intensity of ocean andcoastal uses increases the call for a more holistic, comprehensive, and coordinatedmanagement approach that recognizes the often complex relationships between naturaland human systems.For both economist and non-economist audiences, this book describes ways in whicheconomic analysis can be an important tool to inform and improve ecosystem-basedmanagement (EBM). Topics include modeling economic impacts, benefit-cost analysis,spatial considerations in EBM, incentives and human behaviors, and accounting foruncertainty in policy analysis. Throughout the book the authors elucidate the differentkinds of insights which can be gained from the use of different economic tools.In this rigorous and accessible work, the authors defy the conventional stereotype thateconomic perspectives necessarily favor the greatest commercial development. Instead,they demonstrate how comprehensive economic analyses consider the full range ofpotential services offered by marine and coastal ecosystems, including the conservationof biodiversity and creation of recreational opportunities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A vital read for those who understand the importance of economy in regards to the environment
Economics often plays a hand in dealing with ecology. "Economic Analysis for Ecosystem-Based Management: Applications to Marine and Coastal Environments" discusses the relation for environmental concerns, focusing primarily on ocean ecology, and the importance of economic development alongside it. Human nature, the market, coastal policy, dealing with an uncertain future, and more, "Economic Analysis for Ecosystem-Based Management" is a vital read for those who understand the importance of economy in regards to the environment.
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This book outlines a system that subdivides the Earth into a hierarchy of increasingly finer-scale ecosystems that can serve as a consistent framework for ecological analysis and management. The system consists of a three-part, nested hierarchy of ecosystem units and associated mapping criteria. This new edition has been updated throughout with new text, figures, diagrams, photographs, and tables.

Customer Reviews (1)

Understanding Ecosystem Dynamics
Most people find pleasure in being part of the wildness of a natural environment. There is a diversity and complexity that fascinates and inspires awe. Yet, what makes up the uniqueness of a particular environment has been debated for a long time. Most often when looking at nature we try to see the parts as stable entities rather than the dynamics of whole system.

In this book, Dr. Bailey has taken a Geographers prospective of looking at the whole and then showing how the parts fit together. His solution of this world scale jigsaw puzzle has produced an unmatched insight into ecosystem structure and function. He explains how regional ecosystem boundaries are a function of climate properties that provide the energy to sustain life. At a different scale, other inputs from geology, soil, watershed, and physiography temper the mix of life forms that form an ecosystem.

Throughout this book the emphasis is on spatial relationships among the components that make up ecosystems. However these are not static systems because, at all scales, spatial units of ecosystems and their processes also interact to provide life sustaining natural services.

This is one science book that is easy to read because Dr. Bailey took a great deal of care to explain his reasoning using familiar terms. There is an excellent glossary to explain concepts contained in those words that are not so familiar. Numerous pictures and illustrations clearly present the many ecosystem concepts covered in this book. Finally, a map inside the back cover illustrates the Ecoregions of the Continents. ... Read more

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Respiration represents the major area of ignorance in our understanding of the global carbon cycle. In spite of its obvious ecological and biogeochemical importance, most oceanographic and limnological textbooks invariably deal with respiration only superficially and as an extension of production and other processes. The objective of this book is to fill this gap and to provide the first comprehensive review of respiration in the major aquatic systems of the biosphere. The introductory chapters review the general importance of respiration in aquatic systems, and deal with respiration within four key biological components of aquatic systems: bacteria, algae, heterotrophic protists, and zooplankton. The aim of this first part is to provide the backbone for the analysis and interpretation of ecosystem-level respiration in a variety of aquatic environments. The central chapters of the book review respiration in major aquatic ecosystems including freshwater wetlands, lakes and rivers, estuaries, coastal and open ocean and pelagic ecosystems. For each major ecosystem, the corresponding chapter provides a synthesis of methods used to assess respiration, outlines the existing information and data on respiration, discusses its regulation and link to biotic and abiotic factors, and finally provides regional and global estimates of the magnitude of respiration. The final chapter provides a general synthesis of the information and data provided in the different sections, and further attempts to place aquatic respiration within the context of the global carbon budget. ... Read more

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Terrestrial carbon balance is uncertain at the regional and global scale. A significant source of variability in mid-latitude ecosystems is related to the timing and duration of phenological phases. Spring phenology, in particular, has disproportionate effects on the annual carbon balance. However, the traditional phenological indices that are based on leaf-out and flowering times of select indicator species are not universally amenable for predicting the temporal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and water exchange.

Phenology of Ecosystem Processes evaluates current applications of traditional phenology in carbon and H2O cycle research, as well as the potential to identify phenological signals in ecosystem processes themselves. The book summarizes recent progress in the understanding of the seasonal dynamics of ecosystem carbon and H2O fluxes, the novel use of various methods (stable isotopes, time-series, forward and inverse modeling), and the implications for remote sensing and global carbon cycle modeling.

Each chapter includes a literature review, in order to present the state-of-the-science in the field and enhance the book’s usability as an educational aid, as well as a case study to exemplify the use and applicability of various methods. Chapters that apply a specific methodology summarize the successes and challenges of particular methods for quantifying the seasonal changes in ecosystem carbon, water and energy fluxes. The book will benefit global change researchers, modelers, and advanced students.