Genetic aspects of air pollution and climate change
Essay - 6 pages - Ecology & environment
The ?rst incidences of air pollution impacts on the genetic constitution of forest tree populations were those documented near point sources of sulfur dioxide (SO2), particulates, and heavy metals. Localized extinction of forests around these point sources was documented by ecologists in the past...
Genecology and the adaptations of forest trees
Essay - 8 pages - Ecology & environment
Genecology is the study of intraspeci?c genetic variation in relation to environmental conditions. It reveals patterns of adaptation of populations to their environments that result from differences in natural selection among locations. Genecological studies are conducted for the practical...
Cytogenetics of forest tree species
Essay - 9 pages - Ecology & environment
The discipline of cytogenetics was ?rst de?ned by Sutton in 1903, as a ?eld of investigation which developed from the separate sciences of genetics and cytology. It is concerned with studies on the correlation of genetic and cytological (especially chromosomal) features characterizing a...
The global and forest environment carbon cycle
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
The forest environment carbon cycle can be viewed at a number of scales. Measurements can be made at the scale of an individual leaf or tree, stand-scale measurements can be made, and models can be developed that examine forest-level, regional, and global carbon cycles. The role of the forest in...
Diagnosis, monitoring and evaluation of forest health and protection
Essay - 9 pages - Ecology & environment
Over the last 30 years forest health became a popular issue together with the concern about acid rain, air pollution, and climate change. Terms like forest decline, and the German ‘Waldsterben' (forest death) and ‘Neuartigen Waldscha ¨den' (new type of forest damage) became frequent in...
Environmental impacts on forests
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
There is considerable debate over de?nitions for the word ‘forest' and even for ‘tree.' Most vegetation types fall clearly into the categories of forest or nonforest, but there is dispute at the margins. A similar debate rages over the classi?cation of forests into natural and arti?cial...
Impacts of air pollution on forest ecosystems
Essay - 10 pages - Ecology & environment
Air pollution problems are international in scale. All forests worldwide experience some degree of air pollution exposure above preindustrial levels. Atmospheric transport processes do not recognize geographic borders, but sources of pollutants, the pollutants of concern, and the speci?c effects...
Natural disturbances in forest environments
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
Disturbance in plant communities has been de?ned as consisting of ‘the mechanisms which limit the plant biomass by causing its partial or total destruction.' In forests, disturbance arises from the agencies of tree damage or death. At small spatial scales, individual trees die standing or...
Plant-animal interactions in forest ecosystems
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
Flowering plants, being sedentary, have co-opted animal partners for purposes of gene exchange and propagule dispersal, through pollination and seed dispersal. To secure these services plants provide a variety of flower or fruit rewards creating some of the most common and obvious mutualistic...
Human influences on the tropical forest wildlife
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
Different patterns of anthropogenic forest disturbance can affect forest wildlife in both tropical and temperate regions in many ways. The overall impact of different sources of structural and nonstructural disturbance may depend on: (1) the groups of organisms considered; (2) the evolutionary...
Aquatic habitats in forest ecosystems
Essay - 8 pages - Ecology & environment
There is a wide variety of aquatic habitats found in forested areas ranging from water-?lled tree holes through to large rivers, lakes, and inundated forests. This article initially reviews the classi?cation of aquatic habitats and some of their important geomorphological, physicochemical, and...
Ground preparation in afforestation
Essay - 9 pages - Ecology & environment
Ground preparation is de?ned as the set of preliminary operations on soil that are required for effective establishment of tree seedlings. The main objective of ground preparation is to assure access to nutrients, air, and water for the seedlings to be planted. Ground preparation is more focused...
Endangered species of trees
Essay - 7 pages - Ecology & environment
Unfortunately the topic of endangered species of trees is a vast one because of the extensive loss of their habitat in most parts of the world and in many cases because of overexploitation. The World Conservation Union's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Plants, published in 1997, lists almost 34000...
Population dynamics of forest insects
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
Population dynamics is the study of changes in the number of organisms in populations and the factors in?uencing these changes. It thus, by necessity, includes the study of the rates of loss and replacement of individuals and of those regulatory processes that can prevent excessive changes in...
Primate seed dispersal: Implications for conservation tactics
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
Many frugivorous primates act in an important ecosystem role as seed dispersers for local flora. The importance of this relationship is apparent through the realization that there is variation in the species of plant seeds dispersed by primates and non-primates, with primates often serving as the...
Alternative energy
Essay - 6 pages - Ecology & environment
This article explains the importance of the alternate energy. The traditional energy which we are using is not going to be adequate for our future needs and that too it reached its peak. Apart from its inadequate supply it is also producing enormous amount of pollution which is questioning the...
Effects of environmental enrichment on the consumption of a palatable food reward
Case study - 13 pages - Ecology & environment
Environmental enrichment (EE) is the study of organisms reared in complex, varied environments and the subsequent influences on behavior. Studies have shown many mechanisms for how EE elicits changes in behavior, mental and physical processes, and neurophysiology. EE has been shown to work as a...
Advantages and limitations of using tourism as a rationale for nature conservation and protected area establishment
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
Nearly everyone on the planet would love to see animals and wildlife in their natural habitat with plenty of the space and the resources they need to survive on their own. The problem is that this level of nature conservation is expensive. Leaving land free from development comes at a price. One...
Auto pollution: No solution?
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
For the sake of natural resources and the welfare and prosperity of the population, motor vehicle fuel economy and emission standards must be raised. The dangerous and complicated problems that we face both today and tomorrow with motor vehicles should not be ignored and cast aside, but solved as...
Long term effects of an oil spill on the environment and the economy
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
Despite these effects, however, the response of most people to oil spills is one of passing curiosity. The media may provide extensive coverage of the disaster, but few people would react to an oil spill the same way they would react to news of a hurricane. Certainly, the fact that oil spills...
Prospects for green energy sources
Essay - 6 pages - Ecology & environment
Global warming has increasingly become an all-encompassing issue in both the media's and public opinion. It is only logical then that more and more attention is being paid to alternative energy sources which may have the capacity to not only provide a more environmentally friendly way of...
New approaches to decisions on global warming
Essay - 16 pages - Ecology & environment
Former Vice President Al Gore generated tremendous global awareness and concern for the issue of global warming through his movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”. His activism won him a Nobel Peace Prize, and the issue has become a central topic of discussion for many of the world's leaders....
Global warming - published: 17/07/2008
Essay - 5 pages - Ecology & environment
Recently, global warming has gained massive attention due to the documentary . An inconvenient truth presented by former Vice-President of the United States Al Gore. The National Academy of Sciences reported that “gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as a result of human...
The Brown Pelican problem
Essay - 4 pages - Ecology & environment
The Brown Pelican is part of the family Pelecanidae. “The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis ) is the smallest (42"-54") member of the seven species of the pelican family. (Wikipedia) ” It is still a relatively large bird, with a long, narrow beak. This specific species of pelican...
Environmental Cluster
Essay - 4 pages - Ecology & environment
Learning about how to preserve the environment has always been one of my interests, and having a forester as a grandfather encouraged my passion for the environment and animals. A couple years ago, I took a class called Religion and the Earth with Dr. Christopher Bache, and it made me more aware...
Tsunami: When nature strikes
Essay - 3 pages - Ecology & environment
Just as people thought the world is completely in their hands, a sudden twist of events will occur and prove them wrong. In as much as they endeavor to win over everything, nature strikes back, making them realize how weak they actually are compared to the world where they live in.It was one...
Ocean acidification - published: 03/07/2008
Essay - 6 pages - Ecology & environment
Recently, global warming has gained massive attention due to the documentary An Inconvenient Truth presented by former Vice-President of the United States Al Gore. In relation to that, the National Academy of Sciences reported that “gases are accumulating in Earth's atmosphere as...
Environmental ethics
Essay - 3 pages - Ecology & environment
As a society, we strive for progress and we have come to view progress as a state of productivity and consumerism. Along this road of mass consumption and industrialization, we have negatively affected the environment; in the U.S. alone, 24 acres per person is consumed but only 4.5 acres are...
Assessment of the invasive species legislation for the Great Lakes
Essay - 14 pages - Ecology & environment
In 1959, the Great Lakes opened to deep draft navigation, and since then these waters have transported an estimated two billion tonnes of cargo from the United States to Canada (Seaway 2008). The lakes have 47 deep draft ports and 55 shallow draft harbors, because “waterborne commerce is...
America's Dangerous Dependence on Non-renewable Energy and the Possible Solutions
Essay - 3 pages - Ecology & environment
In the U.S. we rely more on the burning of fossil fuels more than any other country. Retrieving such forms of fuel can be extremely detrimental to the land and animals that surround the site. Drilling for oil is one particular way that fuel is obtained that has caused severe damage to all types...
