$26.95
Hardcover – September 7, 2021
by Stephen J. Pyne (Author)
The Pyrocene tells the story of what happened when a fire-wielding species, humanity, met an especially fire-receptive time in Earth’s history. Since terrestrial life first appeared, flames have flourished. Over the past two million years, however, one genus gained the ability to manipulate fire, swiftly remaking both itself and eventually the world. We developed small guts and big heads by cooking food; we climbed the food chain by cooking landscapes; and now we have become a geologic force by cooking the planet.
Some fire uses have been direct: fire applied to convert living landscapes into hunting grounds, forage fields, farms, and pastures. Others have been indirect, through pyrotechnologies that expanded humanity’s reach beyond flame’s grasp. Still, preindustrial and Indigenous societies largely operated within broad ecological constraints that determined how, and when, living landscapes could be burned. These ancient relationships between humans and fire broke down when people began to burn fossil biomass—lithic landscapes—and humanity’s firepower became unbounded. Fire-catalyzed climate change globalized the impacts into a new geologic epoch. The Pleistocene yielded to the Pyrocene.
Around fires, across millennia, we have told stories that explained the world and negotiated our place within it. The Pyrocene continues that tradition, describing how we have remade the Earth and how we might recover our responsibilities as keepers of the planetary flame.
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2003rd Edition, Kindle Edition
by Thomas T. Veblen (Editor), William L. Baker (Editor), Gloria Montenegro (Editor), Thomas W. Swetnam (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
Both fire and climatic variability have monumental impacts on the dynamics of temperate ecosystems. These impacts can sometimes be extreme or devastating as seen in recent El Nino/La Nina cycles and in uncontrolled fire occurrences. This volume brings together research conducted in western North and South America, areas of a great deal of collaborative work on the influence of people and climate change on fire regimes. In order to give perspective to patterns of change over time, it emphasizes the integration of paleoecological studies with studies of modern ecosystems. Data from a range of spatial scales, from individual plants to communities and ecosystems to landscape and regional levels, are included. Contributions come from fire ecology, paleoecology, biogeography, paleoclimatology, landscape and ecosystem ecology, ecological modeling, forest management, plant community ecology and plant morphology. The book gives a synthetic overview of methods, data and simulation models for evaluating fire regime processes in forests, shrublands and woodlands and assembles case studies of fire, climate and land use histories. The unique approach of this book gives researchers the benefits of a north-south comparison as well as the integration of paleoecological histories, current ecosystem dynamics and modeling of future changes.
Abridged, January 1, 1987
by Martin A. Uman (Author)
Does lightning strike twice in the same place? How does a lightning rod work? What is ball lightning? How many thunderstorms are in progress in the world at any one time? Why does lightning zigzag? What is St. Elmo's Fire? These and many more often-asked questions about lightning are answered in this fascinating and informative guide for the layman, presented in an easy-to-follow question-and-answer format. One of nature's most awesome phenomena, lightning has intrigued man since earliest times. In this book, a noted scientist and expert on lightning dispels many misconceptions while offering a wealth of scientific and technical information about the nature of lightning and its effects. You'll discover how Benjamin Franklin proved that lightning was electrical, how to protect yourself from lightning, how to photograph lightning (it's not difficult), the possible relationship between ball lightning and UFOs, what to do for a person struck by lightning, the nature of sheet lightning, ribbon lightning, bead lightning and other variations, and much more. While the overall approach is nontechnical, Dr. U man has incorporated scientific data in the answers in such a way that laymen will find the book a near-painless introduction to current scientific knowledge about lightning. Simple, well-drawn diagrams illuminate the text, along with a selection of spectacular lightning photographs, including a remarkable image of 5 lightning bolts produced by the explosion of the first thermonuclear device. In addition, each chapter contains a list of references cited in the text which suggest further reading for anyone interested in finding out more about earth's dazzling atmospheric fireworks.
Hardcover – January 1, 1949
By : Aubreville, a. m. a.2nd Edition, Kindle Edition
by Felipe Bravo (Editor), Valerie LeMay (Editor), Robert Jandl (Editor) Format: Kindle Edition
Part of: Managing Forest Ecosystems
Climate change shaped the political agenda during the last decade with three issues as hot topics: commonly making the headlines: carbon budgets, impact and mitigation of climate change. Given the significant role that forests play in the climate system – as sources, sinks, and through carbon trading – this book update the current scientific evidences on the relationships between climate, forest resources and forest management practices around the world. By including the forest scientists’ expertise from around the world, the book presents and updates a depth analysis of the current knowledge, and a series of case studies focused on the biological and the economic impacts of climate change in forest ecosystems in Africa, Asia, Europe and North and South America. The book will form a valuable resource for researchers and advanced students dealing with sustainable forestry, climate change issues and the effects of climate change on natural resource management.1st Edition
by Richard G. Zepp (Editor)
A diverse group of eminent contributors describe a variety of aspects regarding climate-biosphere interactions most susceptible to human perturbations. Models related to climate change and the carbon cycle, biogenic emissions of greenhouse gases in China not concerned with rice cultivation and environmental effects of climate change are among the subjects covered. Although climate-biosphere interactions in China are emphasized, the approaches and scientific principles discussed are designed to provide readers with a general understanding of the processes and data needed to comprehend these interactions.
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