The diversity of life is displayed by a diversity the biodiversity elements. These unique of structural and functional elements. Many approaches are usually tailored to the region of aspects of this diversity are critical for main the world where the scientists' work is focused. taining the healthy functioning of biological This book presents accounts of many tech systems both within short and long time scales. niques that are currently being used in different Some highly diverse features of nature arise parts of the globe by conservation scientists. simply from the heterogeneous patterns that Many different techniques are necessary to comprise the web of nature. Many of these handle the differences in data types and data features contribute to the beauty and quality of coverages that occur across the globe. Also, a life. Humans do not yet understand enough variety of mapping approaches are needed about the complexity of nature to distinguish today to strengthen the many diverse critical those elements that act to support natural conservation objectives. These objectives include vitality from those elements that contribute the identification of the distribution patterns exclusively to our experience of beauty and for a species or habitat type and the placement quality in life. of protected area boundaries.

Those of us who live in California know that it is an amazing place, and one of the reasons our state is so unique is the incredible diversity of life throughout its length and breadth. This atlas shows what the diversity of life in California is and where such resources are located.

Maps are inherently unnatural. Projecting three-dimensional realities onto two-dimensional surfaces, they are abstractions that capture someone’s idea of what matters within a particular place; they require selections and omissions. These very characteristics, however, give maps their importance for understanding how humans have interacted with the natural world, and give historical maps, especially, the power to provide rich insights into the relationship between humans and nature over time. That is just what is achieved in Mapping Nature across the Americas. Illustrated throughout, the essays in this book argue for greater analysis of historical maps in the field of environmental history, and for greater attention within the field of the history of cartography to the cultural constructions of nature contained within maps. This volume thus provides the first in-depth and interdisciplinary investigation of the relationship between maps and environmental knowledge in the Americas—including, for example, stories of indigenous cartography in Mexico, the allegorical presence of palm trees in maps of Argentina, the systemic mapping of US forests, and the scientific platting of Canada’s remote lands.

A comprehensive, up-to-date review of lichens as biomonitors of air pollution (bioindication, metal and radionuclide accumulation, biomarkers), and as monitors of environmental change (including global climate change and biodiversity loss) in a wide array of terrestrial habitats. Several methods for using lichens as biomonitors are described in a special section of the book.

The authors demonstrate that maps of the natural, physical world are just as culturally and socially constructed as any map of property or territory.

The Atlas of Ocean Wealth is the largest collection to date of information about the economic, social and cultural values of coastal and marine habitats from all over the world. It is a synthesis of innovative science, led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), with many partners around the world. Through these efforts, we've gathered vast new datasets from both traditional and less likely sources.

The implications of biodiversity loss for the global environment have been widely discussed, but only recently has attention been paid to its direct and serious effects on human health. Biodiversity loss affects the spread of human diseases, causes a loss of medical models, diminishes the supplies of raw materials for drug discovery and biotechnology, and threatens food production and water quality. Biodiversity and Human Health brings together leading thinkers on the global environment and biomedicine to explore the human health consequences of the loss of biological diversity. Based on a two-day conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Smithsonian Institution, the book opens a dialogue among experts from the fields of public health, biology, epidemiology, botany, ecology, demography, and pharmacology on this vital but often neglected concern. Contributors discuss the uses and significance of biodiversity to the practice of medicine today, and develop strategies for conservation of these critical resources. Topics examined include: the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss emerging infectious diseases and the loss of biodiversity the significance and use of both prescription and herbal biodiversity-derived remedies indigenous and local peoples and their health care systems sustainable use of biodiversity for medicine an agenda for the future In addition to the editors, contributors include Anthony Artuso, Byron Bailey, Jensa Bell, Bhaswati Bhattacharya, Michael Boyd, Mary S. Campbell, Eric Chivian, Paul Cox, Gordon Cragg, Andrew Dobson, Kate Duffy-Mazan, Robert Engelman, Paul Epstein, Alexandra S. Fairfield, John Grupenhoff, Daniel Janzen, Catherine A. Laughin, Katy Moran, Robert McCaleb, Thomas Mays, David Newman, Charles Peters, Walter Reid, and John Vandermeer. The book provides a common framework for physicians and biomedical researchers who wish to learn more about environmental concerns, and for members of the environmental community who desire a greater understanding of biomedical issues.

“With the twinned calamities of climate change and mass extinction weighing heavier and heavier on my nature-besotted soul, here were concrete, affordable actions that I could take, that anyone could take, to help our wild neighbors thrive in the built human environment. And it all starts with nothing more than a seed. Bringing Nature Home is a miracle: a book that summons butterflies." —Margaret Renkl, The Washington Post As development and habitat destruction accelerate, there are increasing pressures on wildlife populations. In his groundbreaking book Bringing Nature Home, Douglas W. Tallamy reveals the unbreakable link between native plant species and native wildlife—native insects cannot, or will not, eat alien plants. When native plants disappear, the insects disappear, impoverishing the food source for birds and other animals. Luckily, there is an important and simple step we can all take to help reverse this alarming trend: everyone with access to a patch of earth can make a significant contribution toward sustaining biodiversity by simply choosing native plants. By acting on Douglas Tallamy's practical and achievable recommendations, we can all make a difference.

“A compelling read” that reveals how maps became informational tools charting everything from epidemics to slavery (Journal of American History). In the nineteenth century, Americans began to use maps in radically new ways. For the first time, medical men mapped diseases to understand and prevent epidemics, natural scientists mapped climate and rainfall to uncover weather patterns, educators mapped the past to foster national loyalty among students, and Northerners mapped slavery to assess the power of the South. After the Civil War, federal agencies embraced statistical and thematic mapping in order to profile the ethnic, racial, economic, moral, and physical attributes of a reunified nation. By the end of the century, Congress had authorized a national archive of maps, an explicit recognition that old maps were not relics to be discarded but unique records of the nation’s past. All of these experiments involved the realization that maps were not just illustrations of data, but visual tools that were uniquely equipped to convey complex ideas and information. In Mapping the Nation, Susan Schulten charts how maps of epidemic disease, slavery, census statistics, the environment, and the past demonstrated the analytical potential of cartography, and in the process transformed the very meaning of a map. Today, statistical and thematic maps are so ubiquitous that we take for granted that data will be arranged cartographically. Whether for urban planning, public health, marketing, or political strategy, maps have become everyday tools of social organization, governance, and economics. The world we inhabit—saturated with maps and graphic information—grew out of this sea change in spatial thought and representation in the nineteenth century, when Americans learned to see themselves and their nation in new dimensions.

This volume studies a fundamental element of Montesquieu’s argumentative architecture that is most apparent in his De l’Esprit des Lois: the problem of giving order to, and establishing a network of consistent explanations of political, social and cultural diversity. Following a thorough and careful analysis of his writings, the volume approaches this subject by observing the use of the information sources available to Montesquieu, the relationships between them, and the judgments he expresses. The book examines some of Montesquieu’s essential theoretical contributions, such as the idea of despotism, and the connection between politics, society and religion, on the basis of his reflections on the variety of mainly non-European societies and cultures. It demonstrates a number of possible inconsistencies and unresolved questions in Montesquieu’s argumentation. One of the main subjects of the book is the consideration of geographical context as an essential element for elaborating uniform criteria of political analysis. The book collects contributions concerning Montesquieu’s reflections on China, Tartary, Japan, India, America, Russia, and the Islamic world, and, building on this earlier research, it shows the importance of Montesquieu’s thought and explains the reason for his longstanding influence.