Terrestrial Paleoecology and Global Change

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Language: English

This book critically models ecosystem evolution integrating basic geologic, demographic, morphologic, genomic, and biotic interrelated changes. Krassilov presents ecosystem evolution as a sustainable oriented process with an increase in the biomass-to-dead mass ratio as a measure of progress. Paleoecology deciphers ecosystem evolution by estimating community complexity/diversity profiles. The concerted impact of geomagnetic, geochemical, climatic, and biological signatures determines geobiospheric crises starting from the earth's interior and culminating in the exterior crust, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. Adaptive strategy is central in the evolutionary processes of origination and extinction, including genome evolution and the evolution of humans as the earth custodians. The book is important for evolutionists, ecologists, geologists, climatologists, geneticists, integrative biologists, botanists, zoologists, and the general educated person who is intrigued by the dynamic historical processes which shape biodiversity evolution. It could be used as an important course book for undergraduate and graduate studies and is an excellent example of inspiring and creative interdisciplinary research of our planet. Professor Valentin Krassilov is among the world's most outstanding paleobotanists and paleoecologists. His contributions reflected in his prolific writing of 20 books and 300 scientific articles are outstanding, in particular in highlighting the origin of angiosperms and other groups of higher plants, as well as in elucidating the pace and periodicity of evolutionary processes.

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