Coupling Of Land And Water Systems

This volume is concerned with many kinds of links between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecological systems on land interact with water in many ways that have been treated throughout the Ecological Studies series. Volume l's chapters 16 through 18, on Hydrologic Cycles, provide background that leads directly into the description of nutrient-hydrologic interactions in Chap ter 1 ofthe present volume. Volume 2 treats further aspects of water in forests, grassland, and crops. Volume 3 summarizes biological and environmental aspects of the whole Indian Ocean as a marine ecosystem that is notably influenced by upwelling of water and nutrients along several of its shorelines. Volumes 4 and 5 provide a closer look at the movement of water in crops and other woody or herbaceous systems and their soils, from viewpoints ranging from that of physics to that of practical agriculture. These volumes, especially Volume 7 on the evolutionary adaptation of ecosystems to mediter ranean types of climates, are concerned with the ecosystem's strategies of using water, which nature provides on a very seasonal basis. Volume 8 treats many aspects of seasonality in a variety of ecosystem types, including en vironmental signals that turn growth on and off at times that are generally appropriate for organisms' survival and for effective use of landscapes by mankind.

Nutrient-hydrologic interaction; Balances in man-made lakes; Bog mires and their influence on landscapes; Effects of marshes on water quality; Mangrove forests and aquatic productivity; Food relations and behavior of salmonid fishes; Natural and modified plant communities as related to runoff and sediment yields.

Philosophers, writers and scientists, from cell biologists to ecologists, have long recognized the special nature of boundaries and interface areas of all kinds. Among ecologists in particular, there has been an upsurge in interest in the sensitive boundary areas of interaction between ecosystems, which are called 'ecotones' and which are often characterized by higher biological diversity than adjacent areas.

This six-volume set offers a comprehensive, unified and integrated treatment of all major rivers and estuaries of the contiguous United States. Describes the hydrology, chemistry and biology of rivers in natural circumstances. Includes numerous photographs, maps and graphs.

This new book, Advances in Energy Materials and Environment Engineering, covers the timely issue of green applications of materials. It covers the diverse usages of carbon nanotubes for energy, for power, for the protection of the environment, and for new energy applications. The diverse topics in the volume include energy saving technologies, renewable energy, clean energy development, nuclear engineering and hydrogen energy, advanced power semiconductors, power systems and energy and much more. This timely book addresses the need of the hour and will prove to be valuable for environmentally conscious industry professionals, faculty and students, and researchers in materials science, engineering, and environment with interest in energy materials.

Ecotones, or boundary zones between land and inland waters (such as lakes, streams and rivers), are the principal routes for transport of organic matter and nutrients across landscapes via physical and biological vectors. The ecotone is the place of cumulation and transformation of in situ production as well as of allochthonous material from adjacent aquatic and terrestrial systems. The ecotype functions as an important barrier or filter for principal nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, responsible for the eutrophication and degradation of surface waters. Intensive forest cutting, agriculture, pollution and bank regulation, urbanization and hydrotechnical constructions seriously endanger the ecotone systems and damage their protective function. It is vital to develop a scientific understanding of the behaviour of phosphorus and nitrogen in these transitional boundary habitats. Such an understanding is important for the rational protection, management and restoration of ecotones connected with lakes and rivers. The importance of nutrient cycling and retention is discussed from the point of view of ecotone function, management and reconstruction in order to sustain its protective role for water bodies. Various types of land/water transitory zones are discussed: wetlands, lake littoral systems, riparian zones of rivers, streams and brooks, the contact zones between groundwater and surface waters of lakes and rivers, air--water interfaces, and patch/ecotone structures in watersheds.