Climate change has shaped life in the past and will continue to do so in the future. Understanding the interactions between climate and biodiversity is a complex challenge to science. With contributions from 60 key researchers, this book examines the ongoing impact of climate change on the ecology and diversity of life on earth. It discusses the latest research within the fields of ecology and systematics, highlighting the increasing integration of their approaches and methods. Topics covered include the influence of climate change on evolutionary and ecological processes such as adaptation, migration, speciation and extinction, and the role of these processes in determining the diversity and biogeographic distribution of species and their populations. This book ultimately illustrates the necessity for global conservation actions to mitigate the effects of climate change in a world that is already undergoing a biodiversity crisis of unprecedented scale.

This book covers studies on the systematics of plant taxa and will include general vegetational aspects and ecological characteristics of plant life at altitudes above 1000 m. from different parts of the world. This volume also addresses how upcoming climate change scenarios will impact high altitude plant life. It presents case studies from the most important mountainous areas like the Himalayas, Caucasus and South America covering the countries like Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Kirghizia, Georgia, Russia,Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Americas. The book will serve as an invaluable resource source undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers.

A comprehensive assessment of the effects of climate change on global grasslands and the mitigating role that ecologists can play.

This volume focuses on the interaction of lichens with their substrate, environment and their biogeographic effects. In seventeen chapters thirty-eight authors present recent findings and developments in systematics, biodiversity, floristic studies and ecology, as well as newly described taxa, and keys to the identification of Caloplaca and xanthorioid lichens. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of several groups and genera are presented, resulting in an improved systematics of, for example, Caloplaca, Cladonia, Collema and xanthorioid lichens. The genera Arthonia and Usnea in Greece (with key) are reviewed. The volume is dedicated to Prof. Hans Martin Jahns on the occasion of his 70th birthday, featuring papers on some of his favourite fields of research, among them lichen interactions with their substrate and environment and lichen biogeography. A brief biography of Jahns, highlighting his contributions to lichenology, is included in the chapter on the nine Presidents of the International Association for Lichenology. Jahns played an important role during the past 40 years with his highly influential book, co-authored by Aino Henssen, entitled Lichenes. Eine Einführung in die Flechtenkunde. He is well-known for his extensive work and numerous publications on lichen morphology and ontogeny, particularly the development of fruiting bodies in different genera.

This book provides information on the historical and theoretical perspectives of biodiversity and ecology in tropical forests, plant and animal behaviour towards seed dispersal and plant-animal interactions within forest communities, consequences of seed dispersal, and conservation, biodiversity and management.

In recent years the field of entomology, due in part to the penetration of other disciplines, has made rapid progress. “Recent Advances in Entomological Research: From Molecular Biology to Pest Management” includes 25 chapters contributed by more than 40 distinguished entomologists and introduces the latest progress in entomology, from molecular biology, insect-plant interactions and insecticide toxicology, to emerging technologies in pest management. Not only is the book interesting and informative, but it provides useful, innovative research advances and will serve as a valuable resource for entomologists, zoologists, botanists and other researchers in the field of plant protection. Tong-Xian Liu is a professor of entomology at the College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, China. Le Kang is a professor of entomology at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.

This book introduces an interdisciplinary framework to understand the interaction between terrestrial ecosystems and climate change. It reviews basic meteorological, hydrological and ecological concepts to examine the physical, chemical and biological processes by which terrestrial ecosystems affect and are affected by climate. The textbook is written for advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying ecology, environmental science, atmospheric science and geography. The central argument is that terrestrial ecosystems become important determinants of climate through their cycling of energy, water, chemical elements and trace gases. This coupling between climate and vegetation is explored at spatial scales from plant cells to global vegetation geography and at timescales of near instantaneous to millennia. The text also considers how human alterations to land become important for climate change. This restructured edition, with updated science and references, chapter summaries and review questions, and over 400 illustrations, including many in colour, serves as an essential student guide.