Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

Over one third of the earth's terrestrial surface is situated in the tropics, with environments raging from hot deserts to tropical rain forests. This introductory texbook, aimed at students studying tropical ecology, provides a comprehensive guide to the major tropical biomes ans is unique in its balanced coverage of both aquatic and terrestrial systems, and in its international scope. Chapters describe the ecology of deserts, grasslands, savannas, tropical rain forests, lakes, rivers and floodplains, mountains, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs and tropical islands, with descriptive case studies providing a framework around which ecological concepts are presented. Given the concern about humankind's impact on tropical ecosystems, the volume also considers the human ecological dimensi[...]

Over one third of the earth's terrestrial surface is situated in the tropics, with environments raging from hot deserts to tropical rain forests. This introductory texbook, aimed at students studying tropical ecology, provides a comprehensive guide to the major tropical biomes ans is unique in its balanced coverage of both aquatic and terrestrial systems, and in its international scope. Chapters describe the ecology of deserts, grasslands, savannas, tropical rain forests, lakes, rivers and floodplains, mountains, wetlands, mangroves, coral reefs and tropical islands, with descriptive case studies providing a framework around which ecological concepts are presented. Given the concern about humankind's impact on tropical ecosystems, the volume also considers the human ecological dimension, with coverage of issues such as population growth, urbanisation, agriculture and fisheries, natural resource use and pollution, and global issues such as the 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 tropics and organisms, plus mathematical concepts and calculations, and is enlivened with clear, simple lien diagrams, maps and photographs. A cross-referenced glossary, extensive references and a comprehensive index are included as further aids to study.