Less expensive and more environmentally appropriate than conventional engineering approaches, constructed ecosystems are a promising technology for environmental problem solving. Undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals need an introductory text that details the biology and ecology of this rapidly developing discipline, known as

Completely updated to keep pace with current technology. * Provides a firm grounding the fundamentals, theory, and latest techniques. * Includes completely updated case studies.

Learn from this integrated approach to the management and restoration of ecosystems edited by an international leader in the field The Handbook of Ecological and Ecosystem Engineering delivers a comprehensive overview of the latest research and practical developments in the rapidly evolving fields of ecological and ecosystem engineering. Beginning with an introduction to the theory and practice of ecological engineering and ecosystem services, the book addresses a wide variety of issues central to the restoration and remediation of ecological environments. The book contains fulsome analyses of the restoration, rehabilitation, conservation, sustainability, reconstruction, remediation, and reclamation of ecosystems using ecological engineering techniques. Case studies are used to highlight practical applications of the theory discussed within. The material in the Handbook of Ecological and Ecosystem Engineering is particularly relevant at a time when the human population is dramatically rising, and the exploitation of natural resources is putting increasing pressure on planetary ecosystems. The book demonstrates how modern scientific ecology can contribute to the greening of the environment through the inclusion of concrete examples of successful applied management. The book also includes: A thorough discussion of ecological engineering and ecosystem services theory and practice An exploration of ecological and ecosystem engineering economic and environmental revitalization An examination of the role of soil meso and macrofauna indicators for restoration assessment success in a rehabilitated mine site A treatment of the mitigation of urban environmental issues by applying ecological and ecosystem engineering A discussion of soil fertility restoration theory and practice Perfect for academic researchers, industry scientists, and environmental engineers working in the fields of ecological engineering, environmental science, and biotechnology, the Handbook of Ecological and Ecosystem Engineering also belongs on the bookshelves of environmental regulators and consultants, policy makers, and employees of non-governmental organizations working on sustainable development.

The seemingly innocent observation that the activities of organisms bring about changes in environments is so obvious that it seems an unlikely focus for a new line of thinking about evolution. Yet niche construction--as this process of organism-driven environmental modification is known--has hidden complexities. By transforming biotic and abiotic sources of natural selection in external environments, niche construction generates feedback in evolution on a scale hitherto underestimated--and in a manner that transforms the evolutionary dynamic. It also plays a critical role in ecology, supporting ecosystem engineering and influencing the flow of energy and nutrients through ecosystems. Despite this, niche construction has been given short shrift in theoretical biology, in part because it cannot be fully understood within the framework of standard evolutionary theory. Wedding evolution and ecology, this book extends evolutionary theory by formally including niche construction and ecological inheritance as additional evolutionary processes. The authors support their historic move with empirical data, theoretical population genetics, and conceptual models. They also describe new research methods capable of testing the theory. They demonstrate how their theory can resolve long-standing problems in ecology, particularly by advancing the sorely needed synthesis of ecology and evolution, and how it offers an evolutionary basis for the human sciences. Already hailed as a pioneering work by some of the world's most influential biologists, this is a rare, potentially field-changing contribution to the biological sciences.

Engineering within Ecological Constraints presents a rare dialogue between engineers and environmental scientists as they consider the many technical as well as social and legal challenges of ecologically sensitive engineering. The volume looks at the concepts of scale, resilience, and chaos as they apply to the points where the ecological life support system of nature interacts with the technological life support system created by humankind. Among the questions addressed are: What are the implications of differences between ecological and engineering concepts of efficiency and stability? How can engineering solutions to immediate problems be made compatible with long-term ecological concerns? How can we transfer ecological principles to economic systems? The book also includes important case studies on such topics as water management in southern Florida and California and oil exploration in rain forests. From its conceptual discussions to the practical experience reflected in case studies, this volume will be important to policymakers, practitioners, researchers, educators, and students in the fields of engineering, environmental science, and environmental policy.

Fundamentals of Ecosystem Science, Second Edition provides a comprehensive introduction to modern ecosystem science covering land, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Featuring full color images to support learning and written by a group of experts, this updated edition covers major concepts of ecosystem science, biogeochemistry, and energetics. Case studies of important environmental problems offer personal insights into how adopting an ecosystem approach has helped solve important intellectual and practical problems. For those choosing to use the book in a classroom environment, or who want to enrich further their reading experience, teaching and learning assets are available at Elsevier.com. Covers both aquatic (freshwater and marine) and terrestrial ecosystems with updated information Includes a new chapter on microbial biogeochemistry Features vignettes throughout the book with real examples of how an ecosystem approach has led to important change in policy, management, and ecological understanding Demonstrates the application of an ecosystem approach in synthesis chapters and case studies Contains new coverage of human-environment interactions

I was asked to introduce this volume by examining "why a knowledge of ecosys tem functioning can contribute to understanding species activities, dynamics, and assemblages." I have found it surprisingly difficult to address this topic. On the one hand, the answer is very simple and general: because all species live in ecosystems, they are part of and dependent on ecosystem processes. It is impossible to understand the abundance and distribution of populations and the species diversity and composition of communities without a knowledge of their abiotic and biotic environments and of the fluxes of energy and mat ter through the ecosystems of which they are a part. But everyone knows this. It is what ecology is all about (e.g., Likens, 1992). It is why the discipline has retained its integrity and thrived, despite a sometimes distressing degree of bickering and chauvinism among its various subdisciplines: physiological, be havioral, population, community, and ecosystem ecology.