Ecosystem Set, 6-Volumes

by Day, Trevor; Garratt, Richard; Allaby, Michael; Moore, Peter D.

• ISBN13: 9780816073764
• ISBN10: 0816073767
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Facts on File

Excerpts

Diverse landscapes and seascapes make up the great ecosystems of our planet. Each global ecosystem, or biome, is a collection of plants, animals, and microbes adapted to the prevailing climate and the associated physical, chemical, and biological conditions. The six volumes in the revised and expanded Ecosystem set—revised editions of Deserts, Oceans, Temperate Forests, and Wetlands, and brand-new volumes of Tropical Forests and Tundra—span the breadth of land-based and aquatic ecosystems on Earth. Each title in this thoroughly re-envisioned and expanded set examines a specific global ecosystem from many viewpoints, including geographical, geological, climatic, biological, historical, and economic. Readers will gain an appreciation of how the various ecosystems came to be, how they are changing, and what might be done about the ways they are being modified that seem detrimental to humankind and the wider world. This revised set boasts an attractive new design filled with full-color photographs and illustrations; lively, up-to-date text; informative new sidebars; and helpful reference material such as a glossary, further reading, Web resources, and an index in each volume.