Biodiversity And Biogeographic Patterns In Asia Pacific Region Ii

This brief book is dedicated to the quantitative analyses and systematic discussion of spatial biodiversity and biogeographic patterns in the Asia‐pacific region comprised of China, India and adjacent countries. The book is split into two sections. The first section presents readers with detailed statistical methods to conduct spatial macro‐biodiversity and biogeography analyses. Step-by-step instructions on how to perform these statistical methods by using the statistical program R are also provided. In the second part, different quantitative case studies are presented covering several topics, including phylogenetics, spatial statistics, multivariate statistics and ecological genomics. Each case study concludes with a detailed interpretation of the quantitative results and how these results are relevant to local and regional ecological processes. This reference is suitable for academics interested in biostatistics biodiversity and ecological studies specific to the Asia Pacific region and China.

Conservation biology has gradually become one of the mainstream fields in contemporary science. The importance of biodiversity conservation is apparently straightforward to understand: because of global urbanisation, industrialisation and climate change, people become more knowledgeable about the harmony between human beings, society and nature. Biodiversity science is a leading multidisciplinary science in the 21st century. In Asia, there are two BRIC countries: India and China. Both are giant and developing countries. The population sizes of both countries rank in the top two across the nations of the whole world. In comparison with developed countries, biodiversity surveying in most Asian countries seems not so comprehensive. New species are continually discovered and reported across the region, and the mega-biodiversity and original forests throughout the region provide invaluable resources for ecologists to explore biodiversity patterns and test relevant ecological theories. This book thus conveys valuable information for researchers interested in the biodiversity conservation issues of the countries across the Asia-Pacific region. In the book, the author applies contemporary statistical methods and numerical techniques to study the biodiversity and biogeography patterns of different taxonomic groups over the region. These case studies are up-to-date and reflect the latest advances in the field of biodiversity science and conservation in the region.

Biological diversity is important for ecosystem function and services, which in turn is essential for human well-being. Under the Convention on Biological Diversity, international efforts have been made to achieve a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss. The loss continues, however. The Asia-Pacific region includes both developing countries with high biodiversity and developed countries with sophisticated data collection and analyses, but only limited information about the status quo of biodiversity in this region has been available. Many Asia-Pacific countries have rapidly grown their economies and social infrastructures, causing a loss of biodiversity and requiring an urgent mandate to achieve a balance between development and conservation in the region. In December 2009, scientists successfully organized the Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Observation Network in the region, to establish a network for research and monitoring of ecosystems and biodiversity and to build a cooperative framework. The present volume is the first collection of information on biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific and represents a quantum step forward in science that optimizes the synergy between development and biodiversity conservation.

Loss of biological diversity through the extinction of species, the conversion and degradation of natural habitats, and the disruption of ecological processes, is occurring throughout the world at an unprecendented rate. As species and their habitats disappear, so do products of present and future value, genes with which to improve crop varieties and livestock, and the natural resiliencies of the world's living resources to respond to climatic and enviornmental change. Nowhere else is the loss of biodiversity expected to be higher during the coming decades than in the Asia-Pacific region. The loss of biodiversity is irreversible. Recognizing this, the Asia Environment Division prepared this paper which is intended to identify priority areas of investment in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper accepts the importance of biodiversity conservation and suggests that policy change coupled with the establishment of protected area systems will be critical to success. A wide range of interventions will be needed to support these efforts toward conserving biodiversity - interventions involving national and local governments, national and international nongovernmental organizations and, most importantly, local people. The strategy defined in this paper is intended to complement existing national and international initiatives and to build partnerships in conservation for the 1990s.

In Regreening the Bare Hills: Tropical Forest Restoration in the Asia-Pacific Region, David Lamb explores how reforestation might be carried out both to conserve biological diversity and to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor. While both issues have attracted considerable attention in recent years, this book takes a significant step, by integrating ecological and silvicultural knowledge within the context of the social and economic issues that can determine the success or failure of tropical forest landscape restoration. Describing new approaches to the reforestation of degraded lands in the Asia-Pacific tropics, the book reviews current approaches to reforestation throughout the region, paying particular attention to those which incorporate native species – including in multi-species plantations. It presents case studies from across the Asia-Pacific region and discusses how the silvicultural methods needed to manage these ‘new’ plantations will differ from conventional methods. It also explores how reforestation might be made more attractive to smallholders and how trade-offs between production and conservation are most easily made at a landscape scale. The book concludes with a discussion of how future forest restoration may be affected by some current ecological and socio-economic trends now underway. The book represents a valuable resource for reforestation managers and policy makers wishing to promote these new silvicultural approaches, as well as for conservationists, development experts and researchers with an interest in forest restoration. Combining a theoretical-research perspective with practical aspects of restoration, the book will be equally valuable to practitioners and academics, while the lessons drawn from these discussions will have relevance elsewhere throughout the tropics.