BOOK OF THE MONTH: APRIL 2012

                                                     

Title        :  ATLAS OF BIODIVERSITY RISK
Authors   : Josef Settele et al
Publisher : Pensoft Publishers
Pages       : 280
ISBN        : 978-954-642-446-4

Price        : $240.00

Political decisions are among the main driving forces that influence the survival of biodiversity. They have a direct impact on decisions in key areas of man’s interaction with nature and the countryside, e.g. through agriculture, traffic or infrastructure policies. These decisions also influence many relevant socio-economic processes underlying human activities, writes an international team of scientists in the "Atlas of Biodiversity Risk", the first of its kind to be published.

The book summarizes in a comprehensive, easy-to-read and richly illustrated form the major threats to biodiversity at a global scale. The global climate and land use changes, environmental pollution, loss of pollinators and biological invasions are among the major risks for biodiversity identified by this comprehensive study. The impacts and consequences of biodiversity loss are analyzed with an emphasis on the socio-economic drivers and their effect on society.

The Atlas is written for a wide range of readers. Academics will find summaries of methods, approaches and case studies. Conservationists and policy-makers will use the easy-to-understand recommendations based on academic findings. Lecturers and teachers will find examples to illustrate the major challenges in our century of global environmental changes.

The Atlas also targets a wide audience. Scientists will find summaries of useful contemporary methods, approaches and case studies, lecturers and teachers will discover examples to illustrate the main challenges of our century in terms of global environmental changes.Finally, all people concerned about saving the life on our planet will find it a powerful tool in their efforts for protection of nature! This Atlas is indispensable for any library or institution in the sphere of environmental sciences.

The Atlas is divided into chapters which mostly deal with particular pressures. It furthermore is based on case studies from different countries which are completed by introductory and concluding texts for each chapter.Chapters: 

1. Biodiversity and Baseline Information
2. Research Approaches for Biodiversity and Impacting Factors 
3. Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity
4. Land-use Changes and their Impacts
5. Environmental Chemicals and Biodiversity
6. Biological Invasions
7. Decline of Pollinators and Their Impact
8. Socio-Economy and Its Role in Biodiversity Loss
9. Combined Biodiversity Effects of Major Pressures
10. The Future of Biodiversity and Biodiversity Research

Review Courtesy: http://www.ufz.de, http://www.pensoft.net