The tropics are home to most of the world's biodiversity and are currently the frontier for human settlement. Tropical ecosystems are being converted to agricultural and other land uses at unprecedented rates. Land conversion and maintenance almost always rely on fire and, because of this, fire is now more prevalent in the tropics than anywhere else on Earth. Despite pervasive fire, human settlement and threatened biodiversity, there is little comprehensive information available on fire and its effects in tropical ecosystems. Tropical deforestation, especially in rainforests, has been widely documented for many years. Forests are cut down and allowed to dry before being burned to remove biomass and release nutrients to grow crops. However, fires do not always stop at the borders of cleared forests. Tremendously damaging fires are increasingly spreading into forests that were never evolutionarily prepared for wild fires. The largest fires on the planet in recent decades have occurred in tropical forests and burned millions of hectares in several countries. The numerous ecosystems of the tropics have differing levels of fire resistance, resilience or dependence. At present, there is little appreciation of the seriousness of the wild fire situation in tropical rainforests but there is even less understanding of the role that fire plays in the ecology of many fire adapted tropical ecosystems, such as savannas, grasslands and other forest types.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg Gmbh & Co. Kg
ISBN-13
9783540773801
eBay Product ID (ePID)
94720942
Product Key Features
Author
Mark Cochrane
Publication Name
Tropical Fire Ecology: Climate Change, Land Use and Ecosystem Dynamics
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Subject
Geography & Geosciences, Geology, Biology
Publication Year
2009
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
682 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
242mm
Item Width
170mm
Item Weight
1391g
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Mark Cochrane
Series Title
Springer Praxis Books
Country/Region of Manufacture
Germany
Best Selling in Adult Learning & University
Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Adult Learning & University