White Biosequestration and Ecological Diversity

Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change and Environmental Degradation
Erscheinungsjahr 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4398-5368-9
Verlag: Taylor & Francis
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 250 Seiten

Reihe: Social Environmental Sustainability

Increased throughput of carbon-based fossil energy, the destruction of Earth’s forests, and other land use changes have resulted in ever higher levels of waste in the form of greenhouse gases—as well as a diminished capacity of the planet to absorb and store those wastes. This means that to avoid catastrophic global warming and maintain the habitability of Earth by protecting essential soil and water resources, we will need to not only reduce emissions, but also increase carbon storage in the land system. Biosequestration and Ecological Diversity: Mitigating and Adapting to Climate Change and Environmental Degradation discusses ways to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and build soil by changing the way people use and manage land.
Principles and Practices for Better Land Management
Examining biosequestration in social, economic, and political context, the book reviews recent scientific evidence on climate change and global ecological degradation and explains how the carbon cycle has been transformed by destructive land use practices, such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. It describes the principles of biosequestration and restorative land management practices and discusses the potential of carbon storage. The author offers specific examples of inexpensive, proven practices that build soil, protect scarce water resources, and enhance ecological diversity. He also identifies conservation policies that provide technical assistance and financial resources for ecological protection and restoration.
How You Can Help Mitigate Climate Change with a Little Piece of Land
Restorative land use and land management practices are critical components of any comprehensive strategy for mitigating and adapting to climate change and global environmental degradation. This book explains how anyone who owns or manages land—from an apartment to a city lot to a farm, forest, park, or even a golf course—can help protect and enhance the biological sequestration of carbon.

Zielgruppe

Undergraduate and graduate students taking courses in environmental sociology, ecological issues, environmental studies, physical science, steady-state economics, social problems, and related topics; researchers in the environmental sciences; land owners and managers of public properties; environmental services companies; conservation and environmental organizations; members of the general public interested in climate change and environmental degradation mitigation and adaptation.

Autoren/Hrsg.

White, Wayne A.

Fachgebiete

• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umweltschutz, Umwelterhaltung
• Technische Wissenschaften Umwelttechnik | Umwelttechnologie Umwelttechnik
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Umwelttechnik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction

Global Warming and Ecological Degradation
Emergence of the Anthropocene
Climate Change as Context
An Overview of Climate Change Evidence
CO2 and Radiative Forcing
Climate Sensitivity: The Likely Extent and Rate of Warming
The Ecosystem Impacts of Global Warming and Related Ecological Crises
Prelude to a Strategy
References

The Global Carbon Cycle and Terrestrial Biosequestration
Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Carbon Cycle Imbalance
Enhanced Carbon Sequestration
The Problem of Permanence
References

Terrestrial Carbon, Food Security, and Biosequestration Enhancement
Land and Carbon Management
Forest Biomes and Carbon Sinks
Agricultural Land, Degraded Soils, and Water Scarcity
Food Security
Beyond Emissions
A Conservative Estimate of Global Terrestrial Carbon Biosequestration Enhancement
References

Land Management Examples, Practices, and Principles
Land Management for Carbon Biosequestration and Ecological Diversity
Concrete Steps and a Vision
References

Conservation Policy and the Politics of Growth
Conservation Assistance Is Available
Societal Transformation and the Politics of Growth
References

Appendix A: Measures and Conversion Units
Appendix B: Surface Albedo
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Wayne A. White lives with his wife on an 80-acre farm in Jefferson County, Kansas, where they raise grass-fed beef, apples, pears, berries, biomass energy, and a variety of vegetables and herbs. He has a Ph.D. in sociology from Kansas State University, has taught sociology and political science, and has worked as a legislative lobbyist, grant writer, and program administrator for a statewide nonprofit legal services organization. White owns and cares for forest and grassland in Kansas, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada. His interests include forestland health, high-diversity native grassland mixtures, and land management practices that protect and enhance ecological diversity.