Product Description

Outlines the central processes that characterize terrestrial ecosystems, tracing the flow of water, carbon, and nutrients from their abiotic origins to their cycles through plants, animals, and decomposer organisms. Softcover.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #328680 in Books
• Published on: 2004-01-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 472 pages

Review

From the reviews:

"This textbook includes 16 chapters, each ending with a summary, review questions and references to additional readings. … It is especially characterized by the great importance (250 pp.) which is attributed to abiotic aspects of ecosystem ecology and to production processes as well as nutrient cycling … . All these chapters are structured in an excellent and well organized way. … Altogether, the authors have well succeeded in writing a comprehensive textbook, mainly for graduate students." (Angelika Schwabe, Phytocoenologia, Vol. 34 (3), 2004)

"This comprehensive textbook outlines the central processes that characterize terrestrial ecosystems, tracing the flow of water, carbon, and nutrients from their abiotic origins to their cycles through plants, animals, and decomposer organisms. … This book synthesizes current advances in ecology with established theory to offer a complete survey of ecosystem pattern and process in the terrestrial environment. … suitable for use in all courses on ecosystem ecology. Resource managers, land use managers, and researchers will also welcome its thorough presentation of ecosystem essentials." (Ethology, Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 15 (4), 2003)

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Top Notch.
This is one heck of a book! I'm very, very impressed. I'm certainly going to use for my courses, and I think it will be used by many others teachers and professor. I think it will find itself along side Schlesinger's Biogeochemistry as a standard textbook for ecologists and global change scientists.

The text is written by some of the best ecologists on the planet, and is very complete and up-to-date. Amazingly, it is also very well written and completely understandable to the average biology student.

I especially like the organization of the book into four major sections: context, mechanisms, patterns, and integration. This works very, very well.

Each chapter is about the right length, with the right level of detail. I also like the use of highlighting, and the list of suggested readings. They work very well.

Overall, this is a fantastic book -- destined to become a classic in the field.

Crisp and clear !!
My research is on integration of terrestrial carbon modelling with remote sensing and I was looking for a book which explains different aspects of the terrestrial ecosystem along with latest research results. This book by some of the famous researchers on the subject explains in a very lucid way every aspects of the terrestrial ecosystem while not failing to include the minute yet important details of the same. I found the chapters on carbon input to terrestrial ecosystems, terrestrial production processes and global biogeochemical cycle very stimulating. The book starts with the basic concepts and then go on to dig deeper to help nourish the curiosity with latest findings and reports. Best for begineers in ecosystem ecology or related field to get a crisp and clear idea on complex interlinking of different processes of the earth's terrestrial ecosystem. Additional readings at the end of each chapter would cater the need for the more hungry ones to go deeper. very nicely sequenced and fun to read with excellent drawings/diagrams.

good stuff
Great book on basic terrestrial ecology. If you are an ecology major, you should get this book!