Smithsonian Atlas of the Amazon by Michael Goulding  (5)
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The Amazon River Forest
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Author Smith is indeed a rainforest expert, but also writes in an engaging manner...This book is recommended very highly because of its unique coverage and slant. Biologists, political scientists, sociologists, and professionals involved in policy making, sustainable development, and saving rainforests will find this book most useful. Good illustrations."--Choice
"[The Amazon River Forest] was a pleasure to read - intriguing, thoughtful, and well balanced."--Sally Adkins, River Network
Product Description
The floodplain forest of the worlds mightiest river, the Amazon, is one of the last major agricultural frontiers. Inhabitants of this bountiful environment have long harvested its wealth of plant and animal resources for a wide array of products, especially fruits, nuts, building materials, fuelwood, and medicinal plants. While the Amazon floodplain has great potential for food production, this unique habitat, inundated every year to a depth of up to 30 feet, is increasingly threatened by ranching and agricultural expansion, and its natural resource base is being impaired by inappropriate land-use practices.
In this book, geographer Nigel Smith reviews the natural history of the area from the people's perspective, offering a large-scale portrayal of the culture of the region not found in most books on Amazonia. The book investigates how the ways in which people make a living are entwined with religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as with nature. Smith challenges the notion that the Amazon basin is a demographic void and a cultural backwater, arguing that the region, densely settled in the past, could again become a prosperous agricultural area. He points out that the local inhabitants' knowledge of the basins natural history is a vital--and sorely overlooked--resource for sound economic development. Topics explored include ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic issues surrounding animal husbandry, domestication of game, annual cropping, agroforestry, and the gathering of forest products. Examining the historical dimensions of various land uses, Smith suggests practical ways to develop the floodplain that enhance, rather than destroy, biodiversity.
A pathbreaking study, impeccably researched and beautifully illustrated, this book will interest a broad audience of individuals and organizations concerned with the development and conservation of rainforests and wetlands.
See all Editorial Reviews
"Author Smith is indeed a rainforest expert, but also writes in an engaging manner...This book is recommended very highly because of its unique coverage and slant. Biologists, political scientists, sociologists, and professionals involved in policy making, sustainable development, and saving rainforests will find this book most useful. Good illustrations."--Choice
"[The Amazon River Forest] was a pleasure to read - intriguing, thoughtful, and well balanced."--Sally Adkins, River Network
Product Description
The floodplain forest of the worlds mightiest river, the Amazon, is one of the last major agricultural frontiers. Inhabitants of this bountiful environment have long harvested its wealth of plant and animal resources for a wide array of products, especially fruits, nuts, building materials, fuelwood, and medicinal plants. While the Amazon floodplain has great potential for food production, this unique habitat, inundated every year to a depth of up to 30 feet, is increasingly threatened by ranching and agricultural expansion, and its natural resource base is being impaired by inappropriate land-use practices.
In this book, geographer Nigel Smith reviews the natural history of the area from the people's perspective, offering a large-scale portrayal of the culture of the region not found in most books on Amazonia. The book investigates how the ways in which people make a living are entwined with religious and spiritual beliefs, as well as with nature. Smith challenges the notion that the Amazon basin is a demographic void and a cultural backwater, arguing that the region, densely settled in the past, could again become a prosperous agricultural area. He points out that the local inhabitants' knowledge of the basins natural history is a vital--and sorely overlooked--resource for sound economic development. Topics explored include ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic issues surrounding animal husbandry, domestication of game, annual cropping, agroforestry, and the gathering of forest products. Examining the historical dimensions of various land uses, Smith suggests practical ways to develop the floodplain that enhance, rather than destroy, biodiversity.
A pathbreaking study, impeccably researched and beautifully illustrated, this book will interest a broad audience of individuals and organizations concerned with the development and conservation of rainforests and wetlands.
See all Editorial Reviews
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Inside This Book Citations: This book cites 8 books | 4 books that cite this book Explore: Citations | Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Key Phrases - SIPs: backswamp forest, urucuri palm, jute boom, jute farmers, manioc cultivars (more) Key Phrases - CAPs: Brazilian Amazon, Monte Alegre, New World, South America, Pedra Pintada (more) Browse Sample Pages: Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me! |
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Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
With global demand for agricultural products expected to double or even triple within the next fifty years, productivity of existing crops and grazing lands will have to be intensified dramatically. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
backswamp forest, urucuri palm, jute boom, jute farmers, manioc cultivars, manioc dough, upland bluffs, commercial agroforestry, manioc varieties, tucupi sauce, giant river turtle, floodplain farmers, water buffalo herds, cacao orchards, floodplain residents, spontaneous seedlings, sapucaia nuts, floodplain pasture, terra preta, buriti palm, agroforestry plots, floodplain meadows, cannonball tree, oily fruits, floodplain tree Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Brazilian Amazon, Monte Alegre, New World, South America, Pedra Pintada, Peruvian Amazon, United States, Southeast Asia, Central America, New York, Old World, Piracauera de Cima, Latin America, Terra Santa, Vila Socorro, Charles Scribner's Sons, Henry Walter Bates, Ituqui Island, Lago Grande da Franca, Piracauera da Cima, Rio Branco, Rio Negro New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
With global demand for agricultural products expected to double or even triple within the next fifty years, productivity of existing crops and grazing lands will have to be intensified dramatically. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
backswamp forest, urucuri palm, jute boom, jute farmers, manioc cultivars, manioc dough, upland bluffs, commercial agroforestry, manioc varieties, tucupi sauce, giant river turtle, floodplain farmers, water buffalo herds, cacao orchards, floodplain residents, spontaneous seedlings, sapucaia nuts, floodplain pasture, terra preta, buriti palm, agroforestry plots, floodplain meadows, cannonball tree, oily fruits, floodplain tree Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Brazilian Amazon, Monte Alegre, New World, South America, Pedra Pintada, Peruvian Amazon, United States, Southeast Asia, Central America, New York, Old World, Piracauera de Cima, Latin America, Terra Santa, Vila Socorro, Charles Scribner's Sons, Henry Walter Bates, Ituqui Island, Lago Grande da Franca, Piracauera da Cima, Rio Branco, Rio Negro New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!