Wetland Landscape Characterization

Wetland Landscape Characterization
Author: Ricardo D. Lopez
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2013-03-27
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1466504323

Wetlands are, by their very nature, ephemeral and transitional, which makes them challenging to characterize. Yet the need for characterizing wetlands continues to grow, particularly as we develop a better understanding of the wealth of ecosystem services that they provide. This book provides practical tools and methods to help practitioners more effectively locate, identify, and map the extent of wetlands, and therefore better understand the importance of wetlands to society and the larger landscape. The authors address jurisdictional, regulatory, and practical applications from the scientific, engineering, and lay perspectives. Numerous techniques, examples, figures, and lessons learned supply the ideas and solutions needed for solving the complex issues associated with wetlands. This second edition has been updated throughout and includes more techniques, examples, and illustrations.

Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security

Use of Landscape Sciences for the Assessment of Environmental Security
Author: Irene Petrosillo
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 494
Release: 2007-10-02
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1402065884

This book examines environmental security from the perspective of landscape sciences, identifying the forces that threaten environmental security at all levels. It stems from the last five years of the Pilot Study Project on Use of Landscape Sciences for Environmental Assessment sponsored by the NATO Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society. Readers explore concepts of environmental security from subjective and objective perspectives.

Structured Decision Making

Structured Decision Making
Author: Robin Gregory
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2012-03-19
Genre: Mathematics
ISBN: 1444333410

This book outlines the creative process of making environmental management decisions using the approach called Structured Decision Making. It is a short introductory guide to this popular form of decision making and is aimed at environmental managers and scientists. This is a distinctly pragmatic label given to ways for helping individuals and groups think through tough multidimensional choices characterized by uncertain science, diverse stakeholders, and difficult tradeoffs. This is the everyday reality of environmental management, yet many important decisions currently are made on an ad hoc basis that lacks a solid value-based foundation, ignores key information, and results in selection of an inferior alternative. Making progress – in a way that is rigorous, inclusive, defensible and transparent – requires combining analytical methods drawn from the decision sciences and applied ecology with deliberative insights from cognitive psychology, facilitation and negotiation. The authors review key methods and discuss case-study examples based in their experiences in communities, boardrooms, and stakeholder meetings. The goal of this book is to lay out a compelling guide that will change how you think about making environmental decisions. Visit www.wiley.com/go/gregory/ to access the figures and tables from the book.