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The World of the Salt Marsh: Appreciating and Protecting the Tidal Marshes of the Southeastern Atlantic Coast Charles Seabrook The World of the Salt Marsh is a wide-ranging exploration of the southeastern coast—its natural history, its people and their way of life, and the historic and ongoing threats to its ecological survival.
Focusing on areas from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida, Charles Seabrook examines the ecological importance of the salt marsh, calling it “a biological factory without equal.” Twice-daily tides carry in a supply of nutrients that nourish vast meadows of spartina (Spartina alterniflora)—a crucial habitat for creatures ranging from tiny marine invertebrates to wading birds. The meadows provide vital nurseries for 80 percent of the seafood species, including oysters, crabs, shrimp, and a variety of finfish, and they are invaluable for storm protection, erosion prevention, and pollution filtration.
Seabrook is also concerned with the plight of the people who make their living from the coast’s bounty and who carry on its unique culture. Among them are Charlie Phillips, a fishmonger whose livelihood is threatened by development in McIntosh County, Georgia, and Vera Manigault of Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a basket maker of Gullah-Geechee descent, who says that the sweetgrass needed to make her culturally significant wares is becoming scarcer.
For all of the biodiversity and cultural history of the salt marshes, many still view them as vast wastelands to be drained, diked, or “improved” for development into highways and subdivisions. If people can better understand and appreciate these ecosystems, Seabrook contends, they are more likely to join the growing chorus of scientists, conservationists, fishermen, and coastal visitors and residents calling for protection of these truly amazing places. |
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Wetlands William J. Mitsch, James G. Gosselink Praise for the previous editions of Wetlands: "Wetlands, the field of study, would not be what it is without Wetlands, the book."
——Bill Streever, Wetlands, 2001 "The Third Edition of this highly successful book manages to set new standards in presentation and content to confirm its place as the first point of reference for those working or studying wetlands."
——Chris Bradley, University of Birmingham, UK, Regulated Rivers: Research and Management "This book is the wetlands bible...the most wide-ranging [book] on the subject."
——Carl Folke, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Land Use Policy "The single best combination text and reference book on wetland ecology."
——Joseph S. Larson, University of Massachusetts, Journal of Environmental Quality "First on my list of references to recommend to someone new to wetland policy management or science."
——Jay A. Leitch, North Dakota State University, Water Resources Bulletin For more than two decades, William Mitsch and James Gosselink's Wetlands has been the premier reference on wetlands for ecologists, land use planners, and water resource managers worldwide—a comprehensive compendium of the state of knowledge in wetland science, management, and restoration. Now Mitsch and Gosselink bring their classic book up to date with substantial new information and a streamlined text supplemented with a support web site. This new Fourth Edition maintains the authoritative quality of its predecessors while offering such revisions as: Refocused coverage on the three main parts of the book: 1. An introduction to the extent, definitions, and general features of wetlands of the world; 2. Wetland science; and 3. Wetland management. New chapter on climate change and wetlands that introduces the student to the roles that wetlands have in climate change and impact that climate change has on wetlands. Increased international coverage, including wetlands of Mexico and Central America, the Congolian Swamp and Sine Saloum Delta of Africa, the Western Siberian Lowlands, the Mesopotamian Marshland restoration in Iraq, and the wetland parks of Asia such as Xixi National Wetland Park in eastern China and Gandau Nature Park in Taipei, Taiwan. This expanded coverage is illustrated with over 50 wetland photographs from around the world. Several hundred new refer?ences for further reading, up-to-date data, and the latest research findings. Over 35 new info boxes and sidebars provide essential background information to concepts being presented and case studies of wetland restoration and treatment in practice.
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The Everglades Handbook: Understanding the Ecosystem, Second Edition Thomas E. Lodge The Everglades Handbook is an important new reference that provides the reader with a wealth of information on the entire ecosystem-upstream and downstream.
This unique book starts with a brief description of the regions geology and geography. The origin of the Everglades is explained and an historic overview is presented. Plant communities and animal groups are covered, detailing their biogeography and functional roles within the system.
The impact of hurricanes (including Andrew) on the ecosystem is discussed. The effect of man on the Everglades and the basic tenets for ecosystem restoration provide an important and final chapter.
Fifty-two beautiful black and white photographs, along with eight maps and diagrams, complement the information presented.
This book is important reading and a necessary reference for anyone interested in the Everglades ecosystem. Completely referenced, it also serves as a guide to the vast literature on the Everglades. |
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Salt Marshes: A Natural and Unnatural History Judith S. Weis, Carol A Butler Now championed as critical habitats for plants, animals, and people because of the environmental service and protection they provide, salt marshes were once considered unproductive wastelands. Salt Marshes, with an emphasis coastal wetlands in the Atlantic and Gulf regions and the San Francisco Bay area, offers readers a wealth of essential information about a variety of flora and fauna, marshes' ecological importance, consequences of human neglect and overdevelopment, and insight into how these wetlands recover. |
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Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation Paul A. Keddy Richly illustrated and packed with numerous examples, this unique global perspective introduces wetland ecology from basic principles to advanced applications. Thoroughly revised and reorganised, this new edition of this prize-winning textbook begins with underlying causal factors, before moving on to more advanced concepts that add depth and context. Each chapter begins with an explanation of the basic principles covered, illustrated with clear examples. More difficult concepts and exceptions are introduced only once the general principle is well-established. Key principles are now discussed at the beginning of the book, and in order of relative importance, enabling students to understand the most important material without wading through complex theory. New chapters on wetland restoration and wetland services draw upon practical examples from around the world, providing a global context, and a new chapter on research will be particularly relevant to the advanced student planning their own studies. |
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Pantanal: South America's Wetland Jewel Russell A. Mittermeier, Monica Barcellos Harris, Christina G. Mittermeier, Jose Maria Cardosa Da Silva, Reinaldo Lourival, Gustavo A. B. Da Fonseca, Peter Seligmann A spectacular tour of the world's largest wetland. The Pantanal covers 81,000 square miles in the middle of South America, extending over parts of Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. About half the size of California and 20 times the size of the Everglades, the Pantanal flood plain is the largest wetland network on Earth. Pantanal reveals the abundant wildlife and beauty of this remarkable eco-system, home to some of the most spectacular concentrations of flora and fauna on the planet. The text explains the Pantanal's ecology, its people, plants and animals, presented in five chapters: - The Pantaneiro: People of the Pantanal
- Wetlands
- Grasslands
- Forests of the Pantanal
- Caiman: the comeback crocodile.
The book also examines the impact of deforestation, overfishing and overhunting in the Pantanal and the efforts by conservationists to protect this magnificent region for future generations. Pantanal is a superbly photographed tour of one of the most memorable regions on the planet. (200512) |
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Lawyers, Swamps, and Money: U.S. Wetland Law, Policy, and Politics Royal C Gardner Lawyers, Swamps, and Money is an accessible, engaging guide to the complex set of laws governing America's wetlands. After explaining the importance of these critical natural areas, the book examines the evolution of federal law, principally the Clean Water Act, designed to protect them. Readers will first learn the basics of administrative law: how agencies receive and exercise their authority, how they actually make laws, and how stakeholders can influence their behavior through the Executive Branch, Congress, the courts, and the media. These core concepts provide a base of knowledge for successive discussions of: - the geographic scope and activities covered by the Clean Water Act
- the curious relationship between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency
- the goal of no net loss of wetlands
- the role of entrepreneurial wetland mitigation banking
- the tension between wetland mitigation bankers and in-lieu fee mitigation programs
- wetland regulation and private property rights.
The book concludes with insightful policy recommendations to make wetlands law less ambiguous and more effective.
A prominent legal scholar and wetlands expert, professor Royal C. Gardner has a rare knack for describing landmark cases and key statutes with uncommon clarity and even humor. Students of environmental law and policy and natural resource professionals will gain the thorough understanding of administrative law needed to navigate wetlands policy-and they may even enjoy it. |
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Pond and Brook: A Guide to Nature in Freshwater Environments Michael J. Caduto A complete guide to the plants and animals of ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands. |
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Environmental Issues, Global Perspectives: Wetlands James Fargo Balliett |
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Swampwalker's Journal: A Wetlands Year David M. Carroll David Carroll has dedicated his life to art and to wetlands. He is as passionate about swamps, bogs, and vernal ponds and the creatures who live in them as most of us are about our families and closest friends. He knows frogs and snakes, muskrats and minks, dragonflies, water lilies, cattails, sedges--everything that swims, flies, trudges, slithers, or sinks its roots in wet places. In this "intimate and wise book" (Sue Hubbell), Carroll takes us on a lively, unforgettable yearlong journey, illustrated with his own elegant drawings, through the wetlands and reveals why they are so important to his life and ours -- and to all life on Earth. |