The Terrestrial Biosphere and Global Change: Implications for Natural and Managed Ecosystems
Edited by:
- Brian H. Walker,
- Will Steffen,
- Josep Canadell &
- John S. I. Ingram
Cambridge University Press: 1999. £65,$110 (hbk); £30, $49 95 (pbk)
Describing ecology between the 1950s and 1970s in The Globalization of Ecological Thought (Ecology Institute, Luhe, Germany), Hal Mooney wrote that “the environment was assumed, although changing in geological time, to vary around a stable mean⃛ Natural systems were the principal object of study: human-modified ecosystems were more-or-less ignored.” He also pointed out that ecology, which began as a global science, became, and to a degree remains, focused on local and small-scale studies. Today's ecologists face problems of global extent resulting from strong anthropogenic trends. Some of the challenges to ecology are intrinsically global, such as understanding the past and future of ecosystems in the carbon cycle. Some problems are becoming global, such as the rapid spread of invasive organisms. Others are local responses to global stresses, of which the leading example is the displacement of the planet's biodiversity by human activities.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution