The Handbook of Natural Resources (6-Volume Set)

About this book

The handbook is an excellent resource for finding basic knowledge on natural resources The experience, evidence, methods, and models used are presented in six stand-alone volumes, arranged along the major systems: land, water, and air. The chapters are contributed by leading experts from around the globe. These volumes demonstrate the key processes, methods, and models used through many case studies from around the world.

Volume 1, Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biodiversity, provides fundamental information on terrestrial systems, approaches to ecosystem monitoring, and a complete overview on the impacts of climate change on natural vegetation and forests. New to this edition are discussions on decision support systems, biodiversity conservation, gross and net primary production, soil microbiology, and land surface phenology. Volume 2, Landscape and Land Capacity, covers soils and landscape issues, their diversity, importance, and how soils are related to the landscapes in which they form. It includes discussions on land conservation, land-use and land-cover changes, urban environments, and unravels the complex bond between humans and soils. New in this edition are discussions on habitat conservation and planning, landscape epidemiology and vector-borne disease, landscape patterns and changes.

Volume 3, Wetlands and Habitats, provides fundamental information on wetlands and their integral functions as a productive ecosystem. The topics it covers include wetlands biodiversity, wetlands classification and monitoring, floods, river ecosystems, pollution, and more. New to this edition are discussions on lakes and wetlands remote sensing, assessment of current wetland health stats, restoration, sea level rises and coastal storm, vulnerability to human impacts, and wetland vegetation. Volume 4, Fresh Water and Watersheds, covers freshwater and watersheds, their health and conservation, protection and management. Organized for ease of reference, it provides fundamental information on groundwater storage, water quality, supply and balance, and water resource vulnerability. New in this edition are discussions on water footprint assessment, water surface dynamics, and water management on a global scale. Understanding the conditions of watersheds is crucial for restoring areas with degraded water quality, as well as protecting healthy waters from emerging problems.

Volume 5, Coastal and Marine Environments, discusses marine and coastal ecosystems, their biodiversity, conservation and integrated marine management plans. It provides fundamental information on coastal and estuarine systems, and includes discussions on coastal erosion and shoreline change, natural disasters, evaporation and energy balance, fisheries and marine resource management, and more. New in this edition are discussions on sea-level rise, renewable energy, coral reef restoration, fishery resource economics, costal remote sensing. Volume 6, Atmosphere and Climate, covers atmospheric pollution and the complexity of atmospheric systems and their interactions with human activity. As an excellent reference for fundamental information on air systems, the handbook includes coverage of acid rain and nitrogen deposition, air pollutants, elevated carbon dioxide, atmospheric circulation patterns, and climate change effects on polar regions and climatology. New in this edition are discussions on aerosols monitoring and mapping, greenhouse gases, the Greenland ice sheet and mountainous regions.

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Biography

Dr. Yeqiao Wang is a professor at the Department of Natural Resources Science, College of the Environment and Life Sciences, University of Rhode Island. He earned an MS and a PhD in natural resources management & engineering from the University of Connecticut. From 1995 to 1999, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been on the faculty of the University of Rhode Island since 1999. In addition to his tenured position, he held an adjunct research associate position at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. He has also served as a guest professor and an adjunct professor at universities in the U.S. and China. Among his awards and recognitions, Dr. Wang was awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) by former U.S. President Clinton in 2000. His research projects have been funded by multiple agencies such as NASA, USDA, USDI, USAID, among others, which supported his scientific studies in various regions of the U.S., in East and West Africa, and in various regions in China. Besides peer-reviewed journal publications, Dr. Wang edited Remote Sensing of Coastal Environments and Remote Sensing of Protected Lands published by CRC Press in 2009 and 2010, respectively. He has also authored and edited over 10 scientific books in Chinese.