Environmental indicators, such as global temperatures and pollutant concentrations, attract scientists' attention and often make the headlines. Equally important to policymaking are indicators of the ecological processes and conditions that yield food, fiber, building materials and ecological "services" such as water purification and recreation. This book identifies ecological indicators that can support U.S. policymaking and also be adapted to decisions at the regional and local levels. The committee describes indicators of land cover and productivity, species diversity, and other key ecological processesâ€"explaining why each indicator is useful, what models support the indicator, what the measured values will mean, how the relevant data are gathered, how data collection might be improved, and what effects emerging technologies are likely to have on the measurements. The committee reviews how it arrived at its recommendations and explores how the indicators can contribute to policymaking. Also included are interesting details on paleoecology, satellite imagery, species diversity, and other aspects of ecological assessment. Federal, state, and local decision-makers, as well as environmental scientists and practitioners, will be especially interested in this new book.

Environmental indicators, such as global temperatures and pollutant concentrations, attract scientists' attention and often make the headlines. Equally important to policymaking are indicators of the ecological processes and conditions that yield food, fiber, building materials and ecological "services" such as water purification and recreation. This book identifies ecological indicators that can support U.S. policymaking and also be adapted to decisions at the regional and local levels. The committee describes indicators of land cover and productivity, species diversity, and other key ecological processesâ€"explaining why each indicator is useful, what models support the indicator, what the measured values will mean, how the relevant data are gathered, how data collection might be improved, and what effects emerging technologies are likely to have on the measurements. The committee reviews how it arrived at its recommendations and explores how the indicators can contribute to policymaking. Also included are interesting details on paleoecology, satellite imagery, species diversity, and other aspects of ecological assessment. Federal, state, and local decision-makers, as well as environmental scientists and practitioners, will be especially interested in this new book.

The field of ecosystem health explores the interactions between natural systems, human health, and social organization. As decision makers require a sound, modular approach to environmental management and sustainable development, ecosystem health assessment indicators are increasingly used across any number of applications. The Handbook of Ecologic

Ecological indicators address ecosystems structure and/or function and are commonly used to provide synoptic information about their state. Through quantitative representations of either the forces that steer ecosystems, responses to forcing functions, or of previous, current, or future states of an ecosystem, indicators are expected to reveal conditions and trends that will help in development planning and decision making processes. Ecological indicators combine numerous environmental factors in a single value, which may be useful in terms of management and in the development of ecological concepts, compliant with the general public's understanding. Nevertheless, their application is not exempt of criticisms, the first of which is that aggregation results in an oversimplification of the ecosystem under observation. Ecological indicators must therefore be handled following the right criteria and in situations that are consistent with its intended use and scope; otherwise they may drive to confusing interpretations of data.

Algae are an important component of aquatic benthic ecosystems because they reflect the health of their environment through their density, abundance, and diversity. This comprehensive and authoritative text is divided into three sections to offer complete coverage of the discussion in this field. The first section introduces the locations of benthic algae in different ecosystems, like streams, large rivers, lakes, and other aquatic habitats. The second section is devoted to the various factors, both biotic and abiotic, that affect benthic freshwater algae. The final section of the book focuses on the role played by algae in a variety of complex freshwater ecosystems. As concern over environmental health escalates, the keystone and pivotal role played by algae is becoming more apparent. This volume in the Aquatic Ecology Series represents an important compilation of the latest research on the crucial niche occupied by algae in aquatic ecosystems. - Presents algae as the important player in relation to environmental health - Prepared by leading authorities in the field - Includes comprehensive treatment of the functions of benthic algae as well as the factors that affect these important aquatic organisms - Acts as an important reference for anyone interested in understanding and managing freshwater ecosystems

Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, national governments have introduced policy measures designed to steer their economies along a more sustainable path. This book discusses the ways in which sustainable development indicators can be improved in order to both assess the impact of past policies and avoid the repetition of previous failings.

Ecological indicators and surrogates are used widely by resource managers to monitor and understand complex biota and ecosystem processes. Their potential to guide complex resource management has meant they have been proposed for use in all ecosystems worldwide. Despite extensive research into indicators and surrogates, there remains much controversy about their use, in addition to major issues and knowledge gaps associated with their identification, testing and application. Indicators and Surrogates of Biodiversity and Environmental Change provides insights into the use of indicators and surrogates in natural resource management and conservation – where to use them, where not to use them, and how to use them. Using an ecological approach, the chapters explore the development, application and efficacy of indicators and surrogates in terrestrial, aquatic, marine and atmospheric environments. The authors identify current gaps in knowledge and articulate the future directions for research needed to close those gaps. This book is written by the world’s leading thinkers in the area of indicators and surrogates. It is the first major synthesis of learnings about indicators and surrogates and will be a critical resource for the vast number of people developing and applying them in ecosystems around the world. It will be an essential resource for scientists, policy makers and students with interests in surrogates and indicators.

Cities have experienced an unprecedented rate of growth in the last decade. More than half the world's population lives in urban areas, with the U.S. percentage at 80 percent. Cities have captured more than 80 percent of the globe's economic activity and offered social mobility and economic prosperity to millions by clustering creative, innovative, and educated individuals and organizations. Clustering populations, however, can compound both positive and negative conditions, with many modern urban areas experiencing growing inequality, debility, and environmental degradation. The spread and continued growth of urban areas presents a number of concerns for a sustainable future, particularly if cities cannot adequately address the rise of poverty, hunger, resource consumption, and biodiversity loss in their borders. Intended as a comparative illustration of the types of urban sustainability pathways and subsequent lessons learned existing in urban areas, this study examines specific examples that cut across geographies and scales and that feature a range of urban sustainability challenges and opportunities for collaborative learning across metropolitan regions. It focuses on nine cities across the United States and Canada (Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Philadelphia, PA, Pittsburgh, PA, Grand Rapids, MI, Flint, MI, Cedar Rapids, IA, Chattanooga, TN, and Vancouver, Canada), chosen to represent a variety of metropolitan regions, with consideration given to city size, proximity to coastal and other waterways, susceptibility to hazards, primary industry, and several other factors.

We all rely on a familiar set of indicators - interest rates, unemployment, inflation, the Dow Jones index, and GDP, for example - to gauge the performance of national economies. No such measures are currently available to describe the environment. This book lays out a blueprint for periodic reporting on the condition and use of ecosystems in the United States. Developed by experts from businesses, environmental organizations, universities, and federal, state, and local government agencies, it is designed to provide policymakers and the general public with a succinct and comprehensive - yet scientifically sound and non-partisan - view of 'how we are doing'. This book should prove invaluable for decision makers in natural resource management and environmental policy in government and environmental organizations, businesses, and trade associations; academics with a research or teaching interest in environmental issues; and the general public interested in the continued well-being of American ecosystems.