This book was composed in honour of Dr. Ir. W. G. Beeftink to commemorate his retirement as a plant ecologist at the Delta Institute for H ydrobiological Research, Yerseke, The Netherlands. The editors' main aim has been to collect scientific papers of Wim Beeftink's friends and colleagues. The title of the book: 'Vegetation between land and sea. Structure and processes' was originally proposed by Prof. Dr. W. H. O. Ernst. It was amended by Prof. Dr. J. J. Barkman. In our judgement it reflects the best attempt to cover the numerous and divergent contributions under one heading. Not all papers however fit the "field" covered by the title, and we use this word both literally and metaphorically. We are glad and proud that so many authors went through the strain of the production of a paper, ill' most cases not scheduled, with eagerness. Due to the fact that Wim Beeftink has so many close friends in the field of plant ecology, this fiber amicorum covers a wide range of disciplines covered, in turn, by a great variety of people. The papers range from taxonomy to experimental physiology, from fungi to seed plants, from autecology to synsystematics. Environmental pollution and management studies are also included. The contents of the papers depict Wim's personal evolution as a botanist. Retired professors as well as students are amongst the authors, heads of departments as well as technicians. It proves Wim's ability to be of one mind with all ranks.

During the vast stretches of early geologic time, the islands of the Caribbean archipelago separated from continental land masses, rose and sank many times, merged with and broke from other land masses, and then by the mid-Cenozoic period settled into the current pattern known today. By the time Native Americans arrived, the islands had developed complex, stable ecosystems. The actions these first colonists took on the landscape—timber clearing, cultivation, animal hunting and domestication, fishing and exploitation of reef species—affected fragile land and sea biotic communities in both beneficial and harmful ways. On Land and Sea examines the condition of biosystems on Caribbean islands at the time of colonization, human interactions with those systems through time, and the current state of biological resources in the West Indies. Drawing on a massive data set collected from long-term archaeological research, the study reconstructs past lifeways on these small tropical islands. The work presents a wide range of information, including types of fuel and construction timber used by inhabitants, cooking techniques for various shellfish, availability and use of medicinal and ritual plants, the effects on native plants and animals of cultivation and domestication, and diet and nutrition of native populations. The islands of the Caribbean basin continue to be actively excavated and studied in the quest to understand the earliest human inhabitants of the New World. This comprehensive work will ground current and future studies and will be valuable to archaeologists, anthropologists, botanists, ecologists, Caribbeanists, Latin American historians, and anyone studying similar island environments.

Deserts are unique ecosystems with their own biotic and abiotic components, and are often rich in renewable natural resources, the appropriate management of which can contribute significantly to the sustainable management of desert regions for the welfare of the people. Yet while there are many books on the flora of the countries fringing the important desert countries of the Mediterranean and Red Seas, there or few books reporting on their ecophysiology and vegetation ecology. This book presents the vegetation types of the African and Asian countries of the Mediterranean and Red Sea coastal regions, and discusses the ecological threats and economic applications of these critical resources. In particular, it examines the relationships between climate and vegetation, and discusses these within the context of desertification, agro-industrial applications, ecotourism and sustainable development. The book will provide a valuable reference for researchers and graduate students involved in plant ecology, biogeography, economic botany and environmental management in the Afro-Asian Mediterranean and Red Sea coastal regions, as well as other desert regions around the world.

CONTENTS: Chapter 1 CALIFORNIA LAND Section 1 National Parks, Monuments And Recreational Areas Section 2 USGS Historic Photos Section 3 California Reservoirs Rise from Drought to Deluge Section 4 Wildfire Scars California Towns Section 5 Wildfire along the California Coast Section 6 Landslide Buries Scenic California Highway Section 7 Finding Floating Forests Section 8 Miscellaneous Satellite Images, And Aerial Photographs And Related Stories Chapter 2 CALIFORNIA WATER Section 1 USGS Historic Photos

This dissertation delves into the reconstruction of past vegetation at the most detailed level. It is not the objective to focus solely on the developments in vegetation over time, but to create an image of the landscape that must have been visible to prehistoric people. Landscape and vegetation form a major starting point for the opportunities available in a certain area for a broad scale of human activities including grazing of livestock, cultivating crops and collecting wild plants. The majority of the analyses are based on seeds and fruits (botanical macroremains) from two Dutch prehistoric regions. These are the small river system in the present Flevopolder, home to settlements of the so-called Swifterbant Culture in the Neolithic period (4300 ? 4000 BC), and the Frisian-Groningen terp region in the period prior to the endikements (700 BC ? c. 1200 AD).

A landmark comparative history of Europe and China that examines why the Industrial Revolution emerged in the West The Great Divergence sheds light on one of the great questions of history: Why did sustained industrial growth begin in Northwest Europe? Historian Kenneth Pomeranz shows that as recently as 1750, life expectancy, consumption, and product and factor markets were comparable in Europe and East Asia. Moreover, key regions in China and Japan were no worse off ecologically than those in Western Europe, with each region facing corresponding shortages of land-intensive products. Pomeranz’s comparative lens reveals the two critical factors resulting in Europe's nineteenth-century divergence—the fortunate location of coal and access to trade with the New World. As East Asia’s economy stagnated, Europe narrowly escaped the same fate largely due to favorable resource stocks from underground and overseas. This Princeton Classics edition includes a preface from the author and makes a powerful historical work available to new readers.

This handbook in two volumes synthesises our knowledge about the ecology of Central Europe’s plant cover with its 7000-yr history of human impact, covering Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia. Based on a thorough literature review with 5500 cited references and nearly 1000 figures and tables, the two books review in 26 chapters all major natural and man-made vegetation types with their climatic and edaphic influences, the structure and dynamics of their communities, the ecophysiology of important plant species, and key aspects of ecosystem functioning. Volume I deals with forests and scrub vegetation and analyses the ecology of Central Europe’s tree flora, whilst Volume II is dedicated to the non-forest vegetation covering mires, grasslands, heaths, alpine habitats and urban vegetation. The consequences of over-use, pollution and recent climate change over the last century are explored and conservation issues addressed.