Beavers: Boreal Ecosystem Engineers
Buch in deiner Nähe kaufen
Beschreibung
This book integrates the results of Dr. Carol Johnston’s research on beaver ecosystem alteration at Voyageurs National Park, a mature beaver-altered landscape named after the French-Canadian voyageurs who transported packs of beaver pelts through the region more than 250 years ago. The text synthesizes information about the vegetation, soils, and chemistry of beaver impoundments, bridging the fields of ecosystem science and landscape ecology to analyze the dynamics of a beaver-altered landscape. The findings from this mature system can inform other scientists and managers about the sustainability and long-term ecosystem effects of beaver activity that is still expanding in much of North America. These findings are also compared to studies of beaver-occupied landscapes in other locations, including the Adirondacks, Tierra del Fuego, and other national parks.
Dr. Carol A. Johnston is Professor of Ecology in the Department of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota StateUniversity. She is a Certified Professional Soil Scientist, a Fellow of the Society of Wetland Scientists, and a life member of the Ecological Society of America.
Bridging the fields of ecosystem science and landscape ecology, this book integrates Dr. Carol Johnston's research on beaver ecosystem alteration at Voyageurs National Park. The findings about the vegetation, soils, and chemistry of beaver impoundments synthesized in the text provide a cohesive reference useful to wetland scientists, ecosystems and landscape ecologysts, wildlife managers, and students. The beaver, Castor canadensis, is an ecosystem engineer unequaled in its capacity to alter landscapes through browsing and dam building, whose population recovery has re-established environmental conditions that probably existed for millenia prior to its near extirpation by trapping in the 1800s and 1900s. Beavers continue to regain much of their natural range throughout North America, changing stream and forest ecosystems in ways that may be lauded or vilified. Interest in beavers by ecologists remains keen as new evidence emerges about the ecological, hydrological, and biogeochemical effects of beaver browsing and construction. There is a critical need for ecologists and land managers to understand the potential magnitude, persistence, and ecosystem services of beaver landscape transformation. The 88-year record of beaver landscape occupation and alteration documented by Dr. Carol Johnston and colleagues from aerial photography and field work provides a unique resource toward understanding the ecosystem effects and sustainability of beaver activity.
Focuses specifically on landscape and ecosystem alteration by beavers Provides a cohesive reference useful to wetland scientists, ecosystem and landscape ecologists, wildlife managers, and students Contains many potential applications to natural resource management in boreal regions, including how beaver activity affects water storage, sediment and nutrient transport, and the availability of wetlands as wildlife habitat Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Autor*in
Carol A. Johnston
Themen in »Beavers: Boreal Ecosystem Engineers«
Castor canadensis herbivory nutrient cycling soil carbon beaver ponds beaver meadows Fish and Wildlife Biology