The greatest challenge for urban ecologists in the next few decades is to understand the role that humans play in urban ecosystems. So far, research on the dynamics of urban development and ecosystems has proceeded separately; neither disciplinary approach has adequately addressed the processes and variables that couple them.
The development of an integrated urban ecological approach is crucial to advance ecological research and to help planners and managers to solve complex urban environmental issues. This book seeks to meet these needs by providing a conceptual framework to synthesize urban and ecological dynamics into a common framework.
The Urban Ecosystem.- Humans as Components of Ecosystems.- Urban Patterns and Ecosystem Dynamics.- Land Use and Land-Cover Change.- The Water Cycle.- Biogeochemical Cycles.- Atmosphere and Climate.- Population and Community Dynamics.- Patterns, Processes, and Scale.- Urban Ecology: A Synthesis.
Aus den Rezensionen: "... liefert ... einen interessanten und sehr umfassenden Auberblick uber aktuelle Fragestellungen, Theorien und Erkenntnisse der Stadtokologie aus US-amerikanischer Sicht. ... wendet sich in erster Linie an Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler ! die sich mit urbanen A-kosystemen befassen. Aus der Perspektive Deutschlands ist vor allem die umfassende Darstellung ... ausserst aufschlussreich." (Alice Kube, in: Natur und Landschaft, December/2010, Vol. 85, Issue 12, S. 552)