Dry Coastal Ecosystems, Volume Volume 2C: General Aspects (Ecosystems of the World)

Rok: 1997
ISBN: 9780444823670
OKCZID: 110061681

Citace (dle ČSN ISO 690):
MAAREL, Eddy van der, ed. Dry coastal ecysystems: general aspects. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1997. xxii, 713 s. Ecosystems of the world, 2C.

Anotace

Several years have passed since the publication of the first two volumes in the dry coastal ecosystem series, a delay caused first by editorial pressures and later by a need to update the material in this section. Most of the Ecosystems of the World series begin with generalities and devote later volumes to specific geographical areas and case studies (as, for example, with the mires volumes). But Eddy van der Maarel has adopted a different, and perhaps more logical approach. The earlier two volumes in this series covered first the coastal ecosystems of the Arctic and Europe, and then the rest of the world. Having dealt with the specifics, the third volume attempts an overview of the generalities that can be gleaned from the earlier detailed studies. The final volume is divided into five sections, the first of which examines the landscape features and processes involved in dry coastal regions. The geomorphology of beach and dune formation, and the slope processes found in cliff erosion are covered here. Beach profiles, wind movements over dunes, and the particular problems associated with karst coastlines, are considered in detail. Although this section is mainly concerned with physical features and abiotic factors, the interaction with vegetation is so important in these ecosystems that it has to be taken into account, hence the chapter on dune building contains much information on the physical impact of plant growth on dune development. The second section is concerned with the biogeography of these ecosystems. Historical biogeographic studies of the dry coastal ecosystems are few, and historic reconstruction, especially of the vegetation and its components, remains rather speculative. Interesting questions emerge here, such as the impact of glacial cycles, where cold events were also generally dry in the lower latitudes. The assemblage of our current suite of coastal organisms was a long and complex process, much of which is still shrouded in mystery. The third section, which looks at general features of ecosystems, has some entries that consider specific habitat types (dune grassland, cliffs, dune slacks, etc.) and others that examine groups of organisms (lichen and moss communities, animals of dunes, etc.). The authors in this section clearly experience difficulty in developing their general accounts beyond a collection of round‐the‐world sketches. Finding global principles evidently stretches the mind and one of the most successful in this respect is the account of woody vegetation on cliffs, where a real attempt is made by A.Z. Lovric to classify such vegetation on the basis of functional types. Pattern and process form the theme of the fourth section, and here the emphasis is upon shared physical features and problems in dry coastal ecosystems, such as salt spray and nitrogen fixation. Several case studies are included here that might have fitted better into earlier volumes. They culminate in a brave attempt to summarize the process of succession in dunes by Eddy van der Maarel, in which he deals with a range of different spatial and temporal scales. Both observational and palaeoenvironmental data are considered in this account. The final, very timely, section deals with threats to dry coastal ecosystems from such activities as industrial sand extraction, water harvesting, coastal defence constructions, and recreational use. The last of these is probably the most widespread, and a wide range of experimental approaches to conservation are covered. The final synthesis volume in this series is more than a mere summary of what has preceded it; some stimulating thoughts and ideas emerge from many of the chapters that will influence the future development of research in dry coastal ecosystems.

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