Landscapes, Geonomics and Transgenic Conifers (MANAGING FOREST ECOSYSTEMS)

Book Description

What is the future of genetically modified (or transgenic) conifer plantations? The content of this edited volume Landscapes, Genomics and Transgenic Conifers addresses this question directly - and indirectly - using language drawn from policy, forest history, genomics, metabolism, pollen dispersal and gene flow, landscape ecology, evolution, economics, technology transfer and regulatory oversight. Although the book takes its title from a Nicholas School Leadership forum held November 17-19, 2004 at Duke University, its de novo contents move past the forumâ€™s deliberations. The result is a trans-disciplinary book composed of 14 chapters written by a total of 31 authors working in North America, South America, Europe and Africa.

The book is written for policy experts, life scientists, government and business leaders, biotechnology writers and activists. Few decision-makers realize the unprecedented degree to which transgenic technology is now possible for forests on a commercial scale. Only a handful of the 550 living conifer species is used for commodity value and even fewer species are being developed for transgenic plantations. Transgenic field trials started within the last decade but no transgenic pine plantations exist in 2005. But emergence of transgenic forest trees is still so recent that dialogue about the pros and cons is confined to the scientific community. And dialogue must move out into the public domain.

So little opportunity remains for opening public dialogue. The pursuit of transgenic research for forest trees is principally corporate so novel forest tree phenotypes are created as a means to increase shareholder value for investor companies. And while potential benefits will accrue to shareholders, ecological risks for certain transgenic traits are likely to be shared due to long-distance gene flow and inadequate bioconfinement measures. So this is a question riddled with tension. Without public deliberation, we should expect alienation of several interest groups. Alienation will lead to heightened clashes in the public policy arena or even radical environmental action. But how to move dialogue on transgenic forests forward? One must re-frame the issues behind transgenic conifer plantations.

The goal of this volume is to provide content for public deliberations about the genetic composition of future forests. Its Section I is composed of provocative and opposing views on the question of transgenic conifer plantations. Sections II and III follow with research advances on relevant conifer genomics and ecology research, respectively. Section IV forecasts rates of technology adoption for different case studies. Finally, Section V compares the status of regulatory oversight of transgenic forest trees between Canada and the United States. But will the book fulfil its goal? The burden of the answer lies with its readers. Will readers act â€“ or will transgenic forests be seen as too remote or simply too rural to bother with the angst of public deliberation?

The Economics of Biodiversity Conservation: Valuation in Tropical Forest Ecosystems

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The Economics of Biodiversity Conservation: Valuation in Tropical Forest Ecosystems
K. N. Ninan , S. Jyothis , P. Babu , and V. Ramakrishnappa
Manufacturer: Earthscan Publications Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Natural Resources | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Genetics | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Biological Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Book Description

* Placing an economic value on biodiversity is seen by many as the best and perhaps only successful way of preserving it while also protecting livelihoods
* This is the most comprehensive examination of valuation ever conducted, focusing on one of the worldâ€™s top eight biodiversity "hotspots", with principles widely applicable across the world
* Original comparisons of the different "values" of biodiversity, trade-offs, incentives for conservation, case studies of coffee growing and wildlife conservation and practical policy options

Economic valuation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is possibly the most powerful tool for halting the loss of biodiversity while maintaining incomes and livelihoods. Yet rarely have such approaches been applied to tropical forest "hotspots", which house the vast majority of the planet's plant and animal species. This groundbreaking work is the most comprehensive and detailed examination of the economics of environmental valuation and biodiversity conservation to date. Focusing on the Western Ghats of India, one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, this volume looks at a cross-section of local communities living within or near sanctuaries and reserve forests such as coffee growers, indigenous people and farmers-pastoralists to assess the use and non-use values that people derive from tropical forests. It also looks at the extent of their dependence on forests for various goods and services, and examines their perceptions and attitudes towards biodiversity conservation and wildlife protection. The book concludes with an assessment of the institutional alternatives and policies for promoting biodiversity conservation through economic valuation methods.

Genetics of forest ecosystems (Ecological studies)

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Genetics of forest ecosystems (Ecological studies)
Klaus Stern
Manufacturer: Springer-Verlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Shrubland Ecosystem Genetics and Biodiversity: Proceedings of a Conference

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Shrubland Ecosystem Genetics and Biodiversity: Proceedings of a Conference

Manufacturer: Diane Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Forests | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0756721911

Microbial activity and community structure of a soil after heavy metal [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry]

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Microbial activity and community structure of a soil after heavy metal [An article from: Soil Biology and Biochemistry]
B. Frey , M. Stemmer , F. Widmer , J. Luster , and Sperise
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Rain Forests | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000P6OEDI

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Soil Biology and Biochemistry, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
We assessed the effects of chronic heavy metal (HM) contamination on soil microbial communities in a newly established forest ecosystem. We hypothesized that HM would affect community function and alter the microbial community structure over time and that the effects are more pronounced in combination with acid rain (AR). These hypotheses were tested in a model forest ecosystem consisting of several tree species (Norway spruce, birch, willow, and poplar) maintained in open top chambers. HMs were added to the topsoil as filter dust from a secondary metal smelter and two types of irrigation water acidity (ambient rain vs. acidified rain) were applied during four vegetation periods. HM contamination strongly impacted the microbial biomass (measured with both fumigation-extraction and quantitative lipid biomarker analyses) and community function (measured as basal respiration and soil hydrolase activities) of the soil microbial communities. The most drastic effect was found in the combined treatment of HM and AR, although soil pH and bioavailable HM contents were comparable to those of treatments with HM alone. Analyses of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphisms (T-RFLPs) of PCR-amplified 16S ribosomal DNA showed that HM treatment affected the structure of bacterial communities during the 4-year experimental period. Very likely, this is due to the still large bioavailable HM contents in the HM contaminated topsoils at the end of the experiment.

Genetic improvement of private woodland ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest (Bulletin / College of Agriculture, University of Idaho)

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Genetic improvement of private woodland ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest (Bulletin / College of Agriculture, University of Idaho)
Ronald L Mahoney
Manufacturer: College of Agriculture, University of Idaho
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Temperate Broad-Leaved Evergreen Forests (Ecosystems of the World)

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Temperate Broad-Leaved Evergreen Forests (Ecosystems of the World)
J. D., Ed. Ovington
Manufacturer: Elsevier Science Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Nature & Ecology | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Compared with other kinds of forests, we know little of the synecology of evergreen broad-leaved forests nor of the autecology of individual species. This volume comprises contributions covering South America, New Zealand, Australia, southeastern North America, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, India, parts of Africa, and Japan. Each chapter considers aspects such as the characteristics, functional processes, past, present and potential uses, management, economic and conservation status of these forests.

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The Path Beaten to Death

not helpful at all as a guidebook

Great Motivation to Explore More

Pretty good book, but not all that unique

The author definitely goes off the beaten path!

Puerto Rico Off the Beaten Path: A Guide to Unique Places
John Marino
Manufacturer: Globe Pequot
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guidebooks | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
Off the Beaten Path | Guidebook Series | Travel | Subjects | Books
Puerto Rico | Caribbean | Travel | Subjects | Books
General | Travel | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Lonely Planet Puerto Rico

Fodor's Puerto Rico, 3rd Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides)

Rand McNally Puerto Rico Easyfinder (Rand McNally Easyfinder)

Insight Guide Puerto Rico (Insight Guides)

Frommer's Puerto Rico (Frommer's Complete)

ASIN: 0762702753

Book Description

Discover the hidden charms of la isla del encanto, "the enchanted island," from rooftop restaurants and colonial architecture in Old San Juan to roadside barbecued chicken stands and the beaches along the slower-paced southern coast. Outdoor adventures and city explorations are all covered in this in-depth guide for adventurous travelers.

Customer Reviews:

The Path Beaten to Death.......2007-01-03

Perhaps in the San Juan area, where I have not stayed, this book provides "off the beaten path" places to visit and sights to see, however, for Ponce and south Puerto Rico I was sourly disappointed. All the spots mentioned were pretty much the standard found in any other guidebook.

Furthermore, there is much to be said for the writing style. As others have mentioned, the book is a long essay that needs to be read at least in chapters. So you cannot just use it as a quick reference, which is really difficult while on the road.

Lastly, it is near impossible to find anything using this book alone (and not that I as a woman am bashing a woman writer), BUT the book comes without MAPS or any other helpful directions about how to get even to the most popular touristy places. Basically, the directions that go something like: "On the way from Boqueron beach, make a quick right by the giant cactus and the rock and the what-is-it will be right there" JUST DO NOT WORK.

Plus, it misses some really phenomenal things such as cock fights (Salinas) or how unbelievably BAD Puerto Rican food is and where to go to find pretty decent international food.

For better guides and less headache, pick another.

not helpful at all as a guidebook.......2006-09-24

In general, I like to avoid touristy spots, and bought this book in the hope that it would recommend places to visit. The format of this book is like a long essay, which makes it difficult to read, and not very useful as a guidebook. It goes something like: "if you take this street, first you'll pass this restaurant, which some people like for the chicken, and then this museum, etc" without giving definitive recommendations and must-sees for the tourist with limited time. I'm glad that my boyfriend brought a Fodor's, which was pretty comprehensive. But the best part of our trip was at an ecolodge that was very much off the beaten path (45 min on a narrow dirt road, up into the El Yunque rainforest), which I found by doing good old web research (search "elena el yunque").

Great Motivation to Explore More.......2004-02-05

Noticing this book was a recent guide to Puerto Rico written by a woman, my wife insisted on buying it. We both enjoyed reading it for its combination of listings and colorful background notes. It makes you realize there is an island and culture worth exploring. We liked the descriptions that helped us better understand the way of life and why things are what they are. We decided to stay at smaller hotels where we heard Spanish and could eat local food. It let us appreciate what a fascinating and friendly place the island is. This book really did encourage us to get "off the beaten path."

Pretty good book, but not all that unique.......2003-12-31

The most helpful thing about this book was the lists of places to stay at the end of every region-discussion. Other than that, "Explore Puerto Rico, 5th Edition" had almost all the same sites & activities listed. For the sake of traveling lightly, we ended up not even bringing "Off the Beaten Path" with us, relying instead on "Explore Puerto Rico" (which has its own issues, see my review on that page for details).

The author definitely goes off the beaten path!.......2001-05-22

Being born and raised in Puerto Rico,I thought I knew all the good places to visit. I bought this book with a little skepticism and what a wonderful surprise it was. The author definitely goes off the beaten path and the tourist traps. My husband and I just came back from there and the directions and the restaurants that the author mentioned were excellent.

If you definitely want to explore the richness of the island and the diversified environments that it offers, this book is for you. I highly recommend it. We took it with us on our recent visit and we really had a very enjoyable time.

Book Description

This newest volume in Hudson Hills Press's acclaimed series about leading collections of master drawings presents sixty-eight great sheets, all reproduced in full-color, including many versos, from one of the finest college museums in America.

Master Drawings from the Smith College Museum of Art

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Master Drawings from the Smith College Museum of Art
Smith College Museum
Manufacturer: HUDSON HILLS PRESS
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OJM7SA

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Lovebirds Made Easy

Lovebirds Today: A Complete Authoritative Guide
Karl-Herbert Delpy
Manufacturer: TFH Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Birds | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
General | Animal Care & Pets | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Lovebird: An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet

ASIN: 0793801184

Customer Reviews:

Lovebirds Made Easy.......2002-03-13

Lovebirds Today is a comprehensive guide to owning and caring for this adorable species. Karl-Herbert Delpy has an bovious affection for the birds and gives some very helpful tips to care, feeding, and purchasing lovebirds. If you have never owned lovebirds before, this book is a fantastic guide to teh should and the should nots of first time owenership. For experienced lovebird owners, the book offers some interesting new insight into care, feeding and caging your birds that other books simply haven't thought of yet. This book is a must for prospective and current lovebird owners!

Book Description

You'll learn how to select the perfect site, choose the size and shape of your garden, and install preformed or flexible-liner pools, as well as how to select pumps and filters, test and treat the water, and choose the right plants and fish for your own unique garden environment. A comprehensive gallery of plants will inspire you to try this increasingly popular form of gardening.

Customer Reviews:

Clear, complete and well illustrated........2002-11-12

Excellent guide that I highly recommend. This is well organized, clear, complete and is very well illustrated. This is an excellent book on water gardening that will be particularly helpful to beginners, but also contains interesting and creative ideas for the more experienced water gardener.

Just fair.......2000-07-28

For the beginner this is a decent INTRODUCTION to water gardens but it is loaded with inconsistencies, lacks definitions (a glossary), is illogical in many places and left me frustrated many times trying to understand the basic stuff. Again a decent introduction to water gardening but the serious "gardener" would be well advised to look to other sources.

water gardening.......2000-04-14

lots of great tips in here for a beginner. this helped me out a lot

Book Description

Jeanne Wakatsuki was seven years old in 1942 when her family was uprooted from their home and sent to live at Manzanar internment camp--with 10,000 other Japanese Americans. Along with searchlight towers and armed guards, Manzanar ludicrously featured cheerleaders, Boy Scouts, sock hops, baton twirling lessons and a dance band called the Jive Bombers who would play any popular song except the nation's #1 hit: "Don't Fence Me In."

Farewell to Manzanar is the true story of one spirited Japanese-American family's attempt to survive the indignities of forced detention . . . and of a native-born American child who discovered what it was like to grow up behind barbed wire in the United States.

Download Description

The U.S. government's internment of 120,000 Asian Americans in the wake of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 is a thorny era that many Americans have chosen to ignore. Farewell to Manzanar is a factual narrative by Jeanne Toyo Wakatsuki and James D. Houston that follows Jeanne, her family, and 30,000 other Asian Americans along a three-decade-long journey of silent denial and racial degradation.

Customer Reviews:

still holds up.......2007-09-28

i read this book when i was about 11 and purchased it for my 12 yr old son last month. he loved it as much as i did. loves to read, loves world war ii history and had no idea that the u s had holding camps for u s citizens of japanese descent. started a diolog with his g'pa, s f born and bred, about japanese americans he'd known as a child who were imprisoned. should be required reading for all

Manzanar - Japanese - California Desert.......2007-06-12

This is the greatest film depicting life in the Manzanar camp in the California desert. It should teach us all about prejudice and where it brings us.

Chavez, Carlos, and Elsie's Reviews.......2007-05-30

Farewell to Manzanar is a novel about a girl and her family going into an internment camp after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
This book is very well written. It explains the struggles that many Japanese people went through during World War Two and Pearl Harbor during the early 1940s. This books states how it was like to be Japanese inside an interment camp and the uncertainty of what was going to happen the next day. This book is based on one main thing, oppression. It is a novel based on oppression because there is negative power being used by the government for only one specific social group or race, which in this case are Japanese people. The main characters in this book are the father who is taken away from his family by the government and his family, who is not sure when he is coming back. The mother is a strong, independent woman during the novel and Kiyo, who is the little brother, is always trying to make someone laugh. Finally there is Martha, who is the girl telling the family's story.

Overall, I think this is a good book to read because you get to see what Japanese Americans' experiences were like in internments camps and what it felt like to not know what was going on or coming next. -by Carlos

Martha remembers lots of things, but this one she will never forget. She remembers it was December and there had to be about 20-25 boats bombed in Pearl Harbor. Her dad is taken away from her house, because the U.S wants to get information from all Japanese Americans to check and see if they are responsible for Pearl Harbor.

In my opinion, this girl suffered more than anyone I know, because she loses everything. She loses her dad, her family, and also her house. There is nothing left for her. I've never seen my dad, but I would hate to have seen him then lose him. Her family is taken to Manzanar, a Japanese internment camp. She is with them, but not living the way she wants to. She is with her brother and mother in the camp. She loses her house, because the U.S thinks she is potentially responsible for Pearl Harbor, or has something to do with it. Overall, I think this book is very good because it gives you very good details on how a little girl experiences a traumatic event at a young age. -by Chavez

A Farewell to Manzanar is a very well written book. It is about a little Japanese girl and what her family had to go through during three years in the Japanese interment camp, Manzanar. There are things she loses like her dad, her house, and her personal belongings. While she is in the interment camp, she goes to school. She has to get permission from parents to spend time with their children while in the camp. Her dad gets taken because the FBI finds evidence that the father has been giving Japan fuel and oil. They are wrong, but just like that, take him away.

Its really interesting reading what the little Japanese girl has to go through in the interment camp. She stands strong even though her dad is taken away. Even though she suffers, she still keeps on strong. It's a good example that even though things might seem hard, there is always a solution for everything. -by Elsie

Internment Camp.......2007-04-23

Jeanne is only seven years old and living in California when Pearl Harbor is attacked. Her parents were from Japan but had been living in the United States for most of their lives. Jeanne and her eight older siblings had all been born in this country and raised as English-speaking Americans. Jeanne's father is now a fisherman who owns two of his own fishing boats. Their family is moderately successful.

All of their success and security ends when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. All of a sudden, people begin looking at Japanes Americans, who are not allowed to become citizens, as the enemy. The American government is terrified that people of Japanese background will pass secrets to the Japanese who are attacking us, so the government takes rights away from anyone who has Japanese blood.

Jeanne's family is considered a particular danger, because they live on the west coast and they fish. They are no longer allowed to fish. Their boats are confiscated. They are then sent to Manzanar, a relocation camp further inland, where thousands of Japanese Americans are sent to live in a fenced-in area until the war is over.

When they first arrive at Manzanar, things are pretty bad. The barracks have been hastily constructed and do not do much to keep out the cold or the dust swirling all around. They are not large enough for families to live comfortably. The food that is served is almost inedible, because the people planning the meals have no concept of what Japanese people eat. Worst of all, though, is the knowledge of the people living there that their government doesn't trust them.

Jeanne and her family are forced to live at this camp for years. This book is an honest look at what the camp was like and what effect it had on Jeanne's family to be stationed there.

I liked that Jeanne doesn't portray her family as perfect. They have as many problems as any other family, and her father is especially flawed. Before I read this book I didn't know much about the Japanese camps, so it was interesting for me to get to know a whole new aspect of the war that isn't discussed as much as the things happening overseas.

This was one person's story, which is both a strength and a weakness. It offers a first-hand account of day to day life, but it lacks in well-rounded historical information. I would like to have know what the government's reasoning was, and how the authorities justified keeping these people locked up for so long.

japanese.......2007-04-19

when i read this book i cried because the americans were fighting against the germans who were doing horific things to the jews and the americans do that to american citizens who are japanese. i'm japanese but an american citizen.

Farewell to Manzanar: A true story of Japanese American experience during and after the World War II internment.

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Farewell to Manzanar: A true story of Japanese American experience during and after the World War II internment.
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston , and James D. Houston
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Coming of Age in Mississippi

ASIN: 0553085077

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Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment
Jeanne Houston; James D. Houston
Manufacturer: Laurel Leaf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000R0VOZI

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Grand Delusions, The Cosmic Career of John De Lorean
Hillel Levin
Manufacturer: New York: The Viking Press, 1983
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NVFLZA

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Grand Delusions: The Cosmic Career of John De Lorean
Hillel Levin
Manufacturer: The Viking Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NPL1WI

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