The Mojave Desert: Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability (Hardcover)

~ Robert H Webb (Editor), Lynn Fenstermaker (Editor), Jill Heaton (Editor), Debra Hughson (Editor), Eric McDonald (Editor), David Miller (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book will be a 'must have' for any scientist, student, or land manager working in the Mojave Desert region." - Walter G. Whitford, Senior Research Ecologist Emeritus, New Mexico University"

Product Description

This title presents new research on the Mojave Desert. In "The Mojave Desert", thirty-eight scientists who are all specialists in desert ecology address the threats to the Mojave, as well as the potential for natural recovery and active restoration. The contributing authors discuss the desert from several perspectives: regional threats such as expanding human populations, climate change, atmospheric nitrogen deposition, and invasive plants; the impact of roads in a desert ecosystem; soils and plant communities; shrinking aquifers; and the monitoring and sustainability of this fragile ecosystem. Finally, they discuss the importance of long-term data and the ways scientists and resource managers can interact to enhance understanding of the processes of change in the Mojave Desert and to advance the preservation and restoration of its precious resources. "The Mojave Desert" offers the fruits of extensive research in a number of disciplines and a sound assessment of the current state and possible future of one of the world's major deserts. As human intrusion and climate change increasingly threaten the Mojave's ecosystem, studies like this are essential in helping scientists, land managers, and the general public understand what is at risk and what can be done to preserve this austere and hauntingly beautiful region.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: University of Nevada Press (April 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0874177766
• ISBN-13: 978-0874177763
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #786,217 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, enthusiastically recommended addition to regional ecological studies shelves and college library collections, July 11, 2009

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

Though the Mojave Desert is a land of temperature extremes and vast spaces without water, it is also home to Native American peoples and numerous rare wildlife and plant species, including some that can be found nowhere else. The Mojave Desert: Ecosystem Processes and Sustainability is an anthology of essays by thirty-eight scientists, all specialists in desert ecology, reporting on the latest specific threats to Mojave Desert as well as options for its natural recovery and active restoration. The importance of gathering long-term data and balancing human impact on the desert are also discussed a length. Individual writings include "Human Population in the Mojave Desert: Resources and Sustainability", "Ecological Effects of Vehicular Routes in a Desert Ecosystem", "Mojave Desert Root Systems", "A Review of Selected Long-Term Ecological Studies of the Mojave Desert Ecosystem", and much more. A scholarly collection of cutting-edge research and insight, The Mojave Desert is an excellent, enthusiastically recommended addition to regional ecological studies shelves and college library collections.