Terrestrial And Wetland Ecosites Of Northwestern Ontario

This guide provides a framework for classifying and mapping terrestrial and wetland ecosites (mappable ecological land units) in north-western Ontario. Ecosites are appropriate for describing and mapping forest ecosystems at a scale compatible with the Ontario Forest Resources Inventory and operational forest management planning. The classification of ecosites presented in the guide is based on data and experience from north-western Ontario. The guide describes 40 forested and wetland ecosites and provides fact sheets, ecosite keys to aid in identification, and information to support the understanding, interpretation, and application of ecosites. Appendices include lists of common and scientific names of plant species, and background information on the process of developing ecosites.

This guide provides a framework for classifying wetlands in north-western Ontario using vegetation and environmental features. It is complementary to the Northwestern Ontario Forest Ecosystem Classification which describes forested communities. The classification is intended to help resource managers make informed decisions about wetland management and conservation. It consists of keys, fact sheets, descriptions of vegetation communities, and environmental data summaries for 36 wetland community types. The classification is based on the analysis of vegetation, soil, and water data from field samples collected in plots in north-western Ontario wetlands. Also includes descriptions and illustrations of six wetland toposequences, an overview of wetland succession and stability, and a glossary.

Peatlands form important landscape elements in many parts of the world and play significant roles for biodiversity and global carbon balance. This new edition has been fully revised and updated, documenting the latest advances in areas such as microbial processes and relations between biological processes and hydrology. As well as thoroughly referencing the latest research, the authors expose a rich older literature where an immense repository of natural history has accumulated. The Biology of Peatlands starts with an overview of the main peatland types (marsh, swamp, fen, and bog), before examining the entire range of biota present (microbes, invertebrates, plants, and vertebrates), together with their specific adaptations to peatland habitats. Detailed coverage is devoted to the genus Sphagnum, the most important functional plant group in northern peatlands, although tropical and southern hemisphere peatlands are also covered. Throughout the book the interactions between organisms and environmental conditions (especially wetness, availability of oxygen, and pH) are emphasized, with chapters on the physical and chemical characteristics of peat, the role of peat as an archive of past vegetation and climate, and peatland succession and development. Several other key factors and processes are then examined, including hydrology and nutrient cycling. The fascinating peatland landforms in different parts of the world are described, together with theories on how they have developed. Human interactions with peatlands are considered in terms of management, conservation, and restoration. A final chapter, new to this edition, focuses on the role of peatlands as sources or sinks for the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane, and the influences of climate change on peatlands. This timely and accessible text is suitable for students and researchers of peatland ecology, as well as providing an authoritative overview for professional ecologists and conservation biologists.

Although anthropologists and cultural geographers have explored "place" in various senses, little cross-cultural examination of "kinds of place," or ecotopes, has been presented from an ethno-ecological perspective. In this volume, indigenous and local understandings of landscape are investigated in order to better understand how human communities relate to their terrestrial and aquatic resources. The contributors go beyond the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) literature and offer valuable insights on ecology and on land and resources management, emphasizing the perception of landscape above the level of species and their folk classification. Focusing on the ways traditional people perceive and manage land and biotic resources within diverse regional and cultural settings, the contributors address theoretical issues and present case studies from North America, Mexico, Amazonia, tropical Asia, Africa and Europe.