The Kakadu reg10n of northern Australia is swarming over the landscape with their meters steeped in cultural history and natural grandeur. and notebooks and a vast store of information Over the past few decades the rich cultural and was gathered. This book is a summary of the natural heritage of this fascinating region has immense amount of information collected on the become increasingly known to more and more geobotanic features of the region. The cultural people. At the same time as the natural heritage of heritage of the traditional Aboriginal inhabitants the region was being recognised by conser of the region and the diverse and populous fauna vationists and tourists alike the mineral wealth were also investigated. but both these subjects was being recognised by mining enterprises. warrant their own separate volumes and are not Almost inevitably, the mix of conservation and treated here. Throughout this period of intense scientific mining interests led to conflict that is still not completely resolved. However, much has hap interest the very nature of the region has changed. pened over the years and we now have a major Besides changes in human habitation the physical and biological environment has come under national park that is largely leased from the Aboriginal traditional owners under a manage challenge and even threat. We now have more weed species. We no longer have the large ment agreement.

Many conservationists argue that invasive species form one of the most important threats to ecosystems the world over, often spreading quickly through their new environments and jeopardising the conservation of native species. As such, it is important that reliable predictions can be made regarding the effects of new species on particular habitats. This book provides a critical appraisal of ecosystem theory using case studies of biological invasions in Australasia. Each chapter is built around a set of eleven central hypotheses from community ecology, which were mainly developed in North American or European contexts. The authors examine the hypotheses in the light of evidence from their particular species, testing their power in explaining the success or failure of invasion and accepting or rejecting each hypothesis as appropriate. The conclusions have far-reaching consequences for the utility of community ecology, suggesting a rejection of its predictive powers and a positive reappraisal of natural history.

Fire is a major agent of disturbance in many biomes of the world but is a particularly important feature of tropical savannas. Up to 50% of the ext- sive tropical savanna landscapes of northern Australia are burnt each year. This includes prestigious conservation reserves such as World Heritage— listed Kakadu National Park, in the Top End of the Northern Territory. As in other savanna regions of the world, the responses of biota to different ?re regimes are poorly understood, such that ?re management represents one of the greatest challenges to conservation managers and researchers alike. This is the context within which a landscape-scale ?re experiment was established at Kapalga Research Station in Kakadu,which aimed to provide a sound scienti?c basis for conservation management in the region. The experiment was established by The Australian Commonwealth Scienti?c and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO),but involved collaborators from a range of universities and government agencies, including the m- agers of Kakadu,the Australian Nature Conservation Agency (ANCA:now Parks Australia North). This book summarizes the ?ndings from the Kapalga ?re experiment and explores the implications for conservation management. We believe that Kapalga has provided important insights into the ?re ecology of tropical savannas and has broad relevance for the conservation management of ?- prone landscapes in general. This book should be of interest to researchers, graduate students, and land management agencies. vii viii Preface We are extremely grateful to all our collaborators,both inside and outside CSIRO, for their involvement in the Kapalga experiment.

Northern Australia stands out as one of the largest natural areas remaining on Earth - alongside such global treasures as the Amazon rainforests, the boreal conifer forests of Alaska and Canada, and the polar wilderness of Antarctica. Nature remains in abundance in 'the North'. Its intact tropical savannas, rainforests, and free flowing rivers provide a basis for much of the economic activity and the quality of life for residents of the area. THE NATURE OF NORTHERN AUSTRALIA details the latest science on the Northern environment. With increasing debate over the future of Australias often forgotten North, this is a timely examination of its environmental significance, the ecological processes that make it function, and the economies that are compatible with maintaining healthy communities and people and healthy country into the future.

Tropical Forage Plants: Development and Use covers the research and resulting pasture development in the tropics and subtropics, which has undergone dramatic changes in the past few decades. Providing a broad, global perspective, it serves as a comprehensive resource covering a wide range of subjects pertaining to forage and animal production in th

A beautifully illustrated reference work on the biology, ecology, conservation status and management of all thirteen species of wild cattle and buffalo. This book will be a valuable resource for students, researchers, and professionals in animal behaviour, behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology.

Ants are one of the most important faunal groups in Australia and are widely used as bioindicators in land monitoring and assessment programs. The Ants of Northern Australia will help in the identification of the 1500 or more ant species occurring in monsoonal Australia, an area which encompasses most of the northern third of the continent. Until now, no book has described the northern Australian ant fauna below genus level. Such a treatment is required to support and promote the numerous ecological studies involving ants, especially in the context of their use as bioindicators. The Ants of Northern Australia features original analyses of genera at the species-group level, and so has relevance throughout Australia. It treats all major species that have been described, as well as numerous others that remain undescribed.

Rangeland ecosystems which include unimproved grasslands,shrublands, savannas and semi-deserts, support half of theworld’s livestock, while also providing habitats for some ofthe most charismatic of wildlife species. This book examines thepressures on rangeland ecosystems worldwide from human land use,over-hunting, and subsistence and commercial farming of livestockand crops. Leading experts have pooled their experiences from allcontinents to cover the ecological, sociological, political,veterinary, and economic aspects of rangeland management today. This book provides practitioners and students ofrangeland management and wildland conservation with a diversity ofperspectives on a central question: can rangelands be wildlands? The first book to examine rangelands from a conservationperspective Emphasizes the balance between the needs of people andlivestock, and wildlife Written by an international team of experts covering allgeographical regions Examines ecological, sociological, political, veterinary, andeconomic aspects of rangeland management and wildland conservation,providing a diversity of perspectives not seen before in a singlevolume

This book discusses current knowledge and challenges with the ecological management and conservation of wetlands, with a focus on the East Kolkata Wetlands of India. This area is referred to as a Ramsar Site, a designation given to areas with special protection statuses, since it is the largest natural waste recycling system in the world. The site faces many threats to its biodiversity and ecosystem functioning due to anthropogenic activity in the region, and therefore an assessment of the ecosystem services, bio-ecological uniqueness, and issues stemming from climate change and human impacts is needed to develop protection strategies for the future ecological functioning and sustainability of the wetlands. The authors use GIS and remote sensing techniques to assess and monitor harmful industrial and environmental impacts on the wetlands, and to inform mitigation and conservation strategies in the face of ongoing threats such as pollution, habitat destruction and bioinvasion. The book also highlights various social and economic aspects tied to the functioning and management of the wetlands, along with ecological, biological, and physio-chemical considerations. The study will be of use to students and researchers in aquatic ecology, biodiversity, and environmental sustainability and conservation, as well as to environmental planners, engineers, and policymakers.

Coastal Wetlands, Second Edition: An Integrated and Ecosystem Approach provides an understanding of the functioning of coastal ecosystems and the ecological services that they provide. As coastal wetlands are under a great deal of pressure from the dual forces of rising sea levels and the intervention of human populations, both along the estuary and in the river catchment, this book covers important issues, such as the destruction or degradation of wetlands from land reclamation and infrastructures, impacts from the discharge of pollutants, changes in river flows and sediment supplies, land clearing, and dam operations. - Covers climate change and its influence on coastal wetland form and function - Provides a fully updated and expanded resource, including new chapters on modeling, management and the impact of climate change - Contains full-color figures of wetlands and estuaries in different parts of the world