The loss to national economies resulting from excessive plant biomass has been appreciable and has put pressure on water managers to develop weed control procedures. The results from the most up-to-date research activities and field trials of leading aquatic plant scientists and managers in all five continents, aimed at resolving these weed problems, has been drawn together in this volume.

The rapid growth of the discipline of aquatic ecology has been driven both by scientific interest in the complexities of aquatic ecosystems and by their enormous environmental importance and sensitivity. This book focuses on the remarkably diverse roles played by underwater plants, and is divided into three parts: 10 thematic chapters, followed by 18 case studies, and rounded off by three integrative chapters. The topics range from macrophytes as fish food to macrophytes as mollusc and microbe habitat, making this of interest to aquatic ecologists as well as limnologists, ecosystem ecologists, microbial ecologists, fish biologists, and environmental managers.

Marine macrophytes (macroalgae, seagrasses, and mangroves) comprise thousands of species distributed in shallow water areas along the world’s coastlines. They play a key role in marine ecosystems regarding biodiversity and energy flow. A large proportion of macrophyte species can be characterised as ecosystem engineers—organisms that directly or indirectly affect the availability of resources to other species by modifying, maintaining, and creating habitats. This book is divided into three main themes: • Marine macroalgae and seagrasses as sources of biodiversity gives an overview of the diversity of the main organisms associated with macrophytes, and their functional role and interactions within their hosts. • Primary and secondary production of Macrophytes synthesizes research on food web structures derived from/or associated with, macrophytes and the transfer of macrophytic primary and secondary production from one ecosystem to another. • Threats to macrophytic ecosystem engineers addresses human-induced effects including eutrophication, physical destruction, invasive species, and global warming. The book is among the first one to concentrate on the value of macrophytes for the well-being of marine habitats. The book is aimed at academics but may be useful for students, policy makers, and laymen alike.

This book offers a comprehensive study of species- and genus-level diversity and chorology of the global freshwater fauna to date. It gives a state of the art assessment of the diversity and distribution of Metazoa in the continental waters of the world.

Overviews of the source, supply and variability of DOM, surveys of the processes that mediate inputs to microbial food webs, and syntheses consolidating research findings provide a comprehensive review of what is known of DOM in freshwater. This book will be important to anyone interested in understanding the fundamental factors associated with DOM that control aquatic ecosystems."--BOOK JACKET.

Aquatic plants play a significant role in maintaining water quality, due to their ability of absorbing nutrients. This book aims to show the value of macrophyte use as a tool for biological water treatment of aquaculture farms and also as a culture medium for microalgae. It also discusses the translocation and monitoring of wetland plants; responses of floating macrophytes to different environmental stressors; and vegetation structure of lagoon environments as a result of sediment biogeochemical dynamics and organic matter load.

Given the essential role that primary producers play in aquatic ecosystems, it is imperative that the potential risk of pesticides to the structure and functioning of aquatic plants is adequately assessed. An integration of regulatory and research information from key specialists in the area of environmental regulation, Aquatic Macrophyte Risk Asse

This volume comprises the proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Shallow Lakes, held at Dalfsen, The Netherlands, in June 2005. The theme of the symposium was Shallow Lakes in a Changing World, and it dealt with water-quality issues, such as changes in lake limnology, especially those driven by eutrophication and pollution, increased nutrient loading and productivity, perennial blooms of cyanobacteria and loss of biodiversity.

Biological homogenization is the dominant process shaping the future global biosphere. As global transportation becomes faster and more frequent, it is inevitable that biotic intermixing will increase. Unique local biotas will become extinct only to be replaced by already widespread biotas that can tolerate human activities. This process is affecting all aspects of our world: language, economies, and ecosystems alike. The ultimate outcome is the loss of uniqueness and the growth of uniformity. In this way, fast food restaurants exist in Moscow and Java Sparrows breed on Hawaii. Biological homogenization qualifies as a global environmental catastrophe. The Earth has never witnessed such a broad and complete reorganization of species distributions.

Phytoremediation Technology for the Removal of Heavy Metals and Other Contaminants from Soil and Water focuses on the exploitation of plants and their associated microbes as a tool to degrade/detoxify/stabilize toxic and hazardous contaminants and restore the contaminated site. The book introduces various phytoremediation technologies using an array of plants and their associated microbes for environmental cleanup and sustainable development. The book mainly focuses on the remediation of toxic and hazardous environmental contaminants, their phytoremediation mechanisms and strategies, advances and challenges in the current scenario. This book is intended to appeal to students, researchers, scientists and a wide range of professionals responsible for regulating, monitoring and designing industrial waste facilities. Engineering consultants, industrial waste managers and purchasing department managers, government regulators, and graduate students will also find this book invaluable. - Provides natural and eco-friendly solutions to deal with the problem of pollution - Details underlying mechanisms of phytoremediation of organic and inorganic contaminants with enzymatic roles - Describes numerous, successful field studies on the application of phytoremediation for eco-restoration of contaminated sites - Presents recent advances and challenges in phytoremediation research and applications for sustainable development - Provides authoritative contributions on the diverse aspects of phytoremediation by world leading experts