The North American Great Plains is a major global breadbasket but its agriculture is stressed by drought, heat, damaging winds, soil erosion and declining ground water resources. Biomass production and processing on the Plains would partially restore a perennial vegetative cover and create employment opportunities. This book explores the possibility that the ecology and economy of the Plains region, and similar regions, would benefit from the introduction of perennial biomass crops.

Tracing over two decades of progress in wetland restoration, this book provides a pragmatic, goal–oriented approach to this often controversial subject. The authors draw on four long–term case studies from across the United States to show what a successful restoration is like and what we can learn from it.

Based in extensive research in geology, atmospheric science, and paleontology, this book offers a detailed history of CO2 in the atmosphere, and an understanding of factors that have influenced changes in the past. The text illuminates the role of atmospheric CO2 in the modern carbon cycle and in the evolution of plants and animals, and addresses the future role of atmospheric CO2 and its likely effects on ecosystems.

This study, conducted in Kenya, gives the first insight into the performance of a constructed treatment wetland receiving pulp and paper mill wastewater in the tropics.

The wetland effectively removed organic matter, suspended solids, phenols and nutrients. BOD and phenols reduction rates are reported for the first time. Design parameters and guidelines for the set-up and maintenance of a full-scale wetland are recommended. The study concludes that integrating a full-scale wetland, as a tertiary stage with the existing treatment ponds would significantly improve the quality of water in River Nzoia downstream of the effluent discharge.

Written by an international authority, A Systems Approach to the Environmental Analysis of Pollution Minimization details the characteristic and common features of different systems of environmental interest. The author reveals these features based on mass and energy balances determined through environmental analysis. He then applies the principles of mass and energy to a variety of systems. A comprehensive guide for professionals and students, the book covers conservation principles, ecosystem health, properties and analysis. It also presents analysis methods such as green accounting, life cycle analysis, and risk assessment.

Uncertainty analysis is a key component of national greenhouse gases inventory analyses. The issues that are raised by the authors in this volume, and the role that uncertainty analysis plays in many of their arguments and/or proposals, highlight the importance of such efforts. Coverage includes: bottom-up versus top-down emission inventory approaches, compliance and verification issues, and the role of uncertainty in emissions trading schemes.

This book is the result of a conference held biannually at the Goodwin-Niering Center for Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies at Connecticut College. It uses an interdisciplinary approach to focus on important ecological impacts of acid deposition. The book combines research findings and the policy analyses of experts from different academic disciplines with the positions advanced by representatives of various nongovernmental organizations.