Geomorphic Analysis of River Systems
Rating: Kirstie A Fryirs and Gary J Brierley. 2013. Geomorphic Analysis of River Systems. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978 1 4501 9274 3 Most books on rivers deal with just that. Not surprising really and we could say the same about any other aspect of the biotic or abiotic environment. However, there is a point here. By focussing on the river, you tend not to connect it to the landscape. This is not a problem for the professional geomorphologist because they know […]
Novel Ecosystems
Rating: Richard J Hobbs, Eric S Higgs and Carol M Hall (eds). 2013. Novel Ecosystems – Intervening in the new ecological world order. Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 978 1 1183 5422 3 It’s not every day that you get to see a new perspective in a subject but this text might well be one such case. The central argument is that since we can’t “win” in some areas because invasive species have taken over then we might as well learn to […]
Environmental Hazards
Rating: Keith Smith. 2013. Environmental Hazards: Assessing Risks and Reducing Disaster. 6e. Routledge. ISBN 978 0 415 68106 3 Writing this review just after the tornado has struck Oklahoma, one is reminded of the power of hazards and the importance of studying such phenomena. At the same time one is drawn to the idea that hazards are an essentially anthropocentric view of specific environmental phenomena – they are particular events which threaten property and lives (often taken in that […]
Vegetation Description and Data Analysis
Rating: Martin Kent. 2012. Vegetation Description and Data Analysis: A practical Approach. 2e. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978 0 471 49093 7 In writing reviews it is best to keep some professional distance; to report what the book tries to say and reflect on the quality and suitability in light of the academic field and competing texts. This is the first and probably only time I will break this rule, just at the outset. This is the second edition of a remarkable […]
Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology
Rating: Gören I Ågren and Folke O Andersson. 2012. Terrestrial Ecosystem Ecology. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 1 107 64825 8. Perhaps the first thought on seeing this text is why ‘terrestrial’ and not just ecology. That lasts all of a few seconds when dipping into the preface and seeing that the focus is on whole systems i.e. ecosystems and that this is the easiest way to demonstrate the principles. The authors continue their rationale by noting that it is […]
Urban Ecology
Rating: Niemela J, Breuste JH, Elmqvist T, Gunterspergen G, James P and NE Macintyre. (eds). 2012. Urban Ecology: patterns, processes and applications. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978 0 19 964395 0. It’s always interesting to see how perspectives change in any field and ecology is no exception. Twenty years ago, the words ‘urban’ and ‘nature’ would only be seen together if they were in opposition. No-one would suggest the towns and cities could create environments or modify habitats. It’s not […]
Ecology of Freshwaters 4e.
Rating: Brian Moss. 2010. Ecology of Freshwaters – a view for the 21st century. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978 1 4051 1332 8. Brian Moss seems synonymous with freshwater ecology as this citation notes. Having used the first edition of this book way back in 1980 when it was first published it is pleasing to be able to report on the latest incarnation. However, it’s more than just meeting a new version; freshwaters are becoming a key part of the environmental debate […]
Environmental Policy in the EU. 3e.
Rating: Andrew Jordan and Camilla Adelle. eds. 2013. Environmental Policy in the EU. Earthscan. ISBN 978 1 84971 469 3 It’s always interesting to see changes between editions. Reading concurrently the first and third edition of this text shows how far changes have been made and not just to the content. The first edition was a much needed look through the burgeoning field of EU environmental policy. This is still the case for the third edition but the text has […]
The Theory of Ecology
Rating: Samuel M Scheiner and Michael R Willig. 2012. The Theory of Ecology. Chicago University Press. ISBN 978 0 226 73686 0. It concerns me both as an educator and ecologist that students beginning their studies pay so much attention to getting information and so little idea to where it fits in. The debate between information and knowledge is alive and well on the net (try searching using that phrase!). What is worrying is that the internet opens up data […]
Reconstructing Earth’s Climate History
Rating: Kristen St John, R Mark Leckie, Kate Pound, Megan Jones and Lawrence Krissek. 2012. Reconstructing Earth’s Climate History. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978 1 1182 3294 1 Over the years there have been hundreds (probably thousands!) of books published on just about every topic in the climate change canon. Rarely, there’s a book that looks at something from a completely new angle. One of the issues that has surrounded climate change from the beginning is that it often assumes that the […]
