Handbook of ecological indicators for assessment of ecosystem health / edited by Sven E. Jørgensen, Fu-Liu Xu, Robert Costanza.

Contents

Introduction

Application of indicators for the assessment of ecosystem health / S. E. Jørgensen ... [et al.]

Eco-exergy as ecological indicator / S. E. Jørgensen

Emergy indices of biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics / Mark T. Brown and Sergio Ulgiati

Eco-exergy to emergy flow ratio for the assessment of ecosystem health / F. M. Pulselli, C. Gaggi, and S. Bastianoni

Natural capital security/vulnerability related to disturbance in a panarchy of social-ecological landscapes / Nicola Zaccarelli, Irene Petrosillo, and Giovanni Zurlini

Species richness in space and time as an indicator of human activity and ecological change / Erich Tasser ... [et al.]

Landscape development intensity and pollutant emergy/empower density indices as indicators of ecosystem health / Mark T. Brown and Kelly Chinners Reiss

Ecosystem services and ecological indicators / Robert Costanza

Application of ecological indicators for the assessment of wetland ecosystem health / S. E. Jørgensen

Application of ecological indicators for the assessment of ecosystem health in estuaries and coastal zones / João C. Marques

Application of ecological and thermodynamic indicators for the assessment of ecosystem health of lakes / Fu-Liu Xu

Application of ecological indicators in forest management in Africa / Kouami Kokou, Adzo Dzifa Kokutse, and Kossi Adjonou

Using ecological indicators to assess the health of marine ecosystems: the North Atlantic / Villy Christensen and Philippe Cury

Indicators for the management of coastal lagoons: Sacca di Goro case study / J. M. Zaldívar ... [et al.]

Ecosystem indicators for the integrated management of landscape health and integrity / Felix Müller and Benjamin Burkhard

Integrated indicators for evaluating ecosystem health: an application to agricultural systems / V. Niccolucci ... [et al.]

Ecological indicators to assess the health of river ecosystems / Carles Ibáñez ... [et al.].

Includes bibliographical references and index.

"Continuing in the tradition of its bestselling predecessor, the Handbook of Ecological Indicators for Assessment of Ecosystem Health, Second Edition brings together world-class editors and contributors who have been at the forefront of ecosystem health assessment research for decades, to provide a sound approach to environmental management and sustainable development. Significantly updated and expanded, this authoritative resource details a proven framework for selecting, evaluating, and validating ecological indicators for ecosystem health assessment. It guides readers through the application of this framework to a wide range of ecosystems, including wetlands, estuaries, coastal zones, lakes, forests, marine ecosystems, lagoons, agricultural systems, landscapes, and rivers. The text synthesizes material from a variety of books, journals, and private research, to consider biodiversity, energy needs, ecological economics, and natural capital in the measurement of ecological health. Organized for ease of reference, the first part of the handbook provides the required theoretical background. It presents a complete overview of all relevant ecological indicators - including thermodynamics, resilience estimates, exergy, and emergy indicators. The second part focuses on how to effectively apply the ecological indicators to a number of important ecosystems. It includes many examples and case studies that clearly illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each method for specific applications. Offering first-hand insight and practical guidance from practitioners in the field, this complete resource supplies the tools and the well-rounded understanding required to diagnose the health of virtually any ecosystem with much improved accuracy."--Publisher's description.