1552 Pages 338 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    One of the critical issues of our time is the dwindling capacity of the planet to provide life support for a large and growing human population. Based on a symposium on ecosystem health, Managing for Healthy Ecosystems identifies key issues that must be resolved if there is to be progress in this complex area, such as:

  • Evolving methods for regional ecosystem health assessment employing complex adaptive systems coupled with adaptive technologies to permit accurate determination of changes in regional and global environments

  • Issues and methods for assessing, monitoring, and managing diversity and its impact on human health in the context of climate change, agroecosystems, restoration of forests, politics, culture, and tradition.

    Leading thinkers in the field provide a coherent synthesis and a benchmark for the practice of this emerging field worldwide. The more than 100 peer-reviewed papers are grouped into three major parts. The first, "Emerging Concepts," explores the diverse meanings of ecosystem health within ecological, socio-economic, and human health perspectives, and the linkages to related concepts such as ecological integrity, sustainable development, and ecological footprints. The second part, "Issues and Methods," introduces methods for assessing and monitoring ecosystem health, including strategies for gaining political and stakeholder input and support for science-based ecosystem management. The final part, "Case Studies," reports experiences of interdisciplinary teams grappling with specific issues in a variety of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.
  • PART I: EMERGING CONCEPTS
    Preface
    SETTING THE STAGE
    Overview: Regaining healthy ecoystems: The supreme challenge of our age, David J. Rapport
    The politics of the environment, Ola Ullsten
    Environmental health research challenges, Kenneth Olden
    Towards eco-responsibility: The need for new education, new technologies, new teams, and new economics, William S. Fyfe
    PERSPECTIVES ON ECOSYSTEM HEALTH
    Overview: Perspectives on ecosystem health, David J. Rapport
    The ethics of ecological integrity and ecosystem health: The interface, Laura Westra
    Ecological integrity and material growth: Irreconcilable conflict? William E. Rees
    Population health issues in the management of air quality, Richard T.Burnett, Barry Jessiman, David Stieb, and Daniel Krewski
    Global environmental changes and health: Approaches to assessing risks, A.J. McMichael and R.S. Kovats
    Integrated research on health effects of global climate change, J.A. Patz
    Use of meteorological data to predict mosquito-borne encephalitis risk in California: Preliminary observations in Kern County, William K. Reisen
    Preparing for the quantum leap to sustainability: A toolkit for future-friendly cities, Mathis Wackernagel
    BUILDING POLICIES AND LINKAGES
    Overview: Building policies and linkages, Barry W. Wilson
    The CALFED ecosystem restoration program: Complexity and compromise, Rick Soehren
    Understanding the politics of ecological regulation: Appropriate use of the concept of ecosystem health
    John Freemuth
    Attitudes and their influence on nature valuation and management in relation to sustainable development, Hans A.M. de Kruijf, Ekko C. van Ierland, C. Martijn van der Heide, and Jos M. Dekker
    Humane values as a basis for ecosystem health
    John W. Grandy and Allen T. Rutberg, The role of the Water Education Foundation in creating factual awareness and facilitating consensus in western water issues, Rita Schmidt Sudman
    Addressing threats to the health of coastal and near-coastal ecosystems-The Gulf of Mexico, James D. Giattina
    SETTING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES IN MANAGING FOR HEALTHY ECOSYSTEMS
    Overview: Setting goals and objectives in managing for healthy ecosystems, Robert T. Lackey
    Adaptive restoration: A strategic approach for integrating research into restoration projects, J.B. Zedler and J. Callaway
    Appropriate use of ecosystem health and normative science in ecological policy, Robert T. Lackey
    Ecosystem health: A flawed basis for federal regulation and land use management, Allan K. Fitzsimmons
    Quality of life, recreation, and natural environments: Exploring the connection, Alan Ewert
    Natural capital differentiation, sustainability, and regional environmental policy, Cecilia Collados
    FINDING INDICATORS
    Overview: Can we develop and utilize indicators of ecological integrity to manage ecosystems successfully? Gary N. Cherr
    A conceptual framework for choosing indicators of ecological integrity: Case-study of the San Francisco Bay-Delta-River System, Karen Levy, Terry F. Young, and Rodney M. Fujita
    Establishing specifications of ecological indicators for the prediction of sustainability, Wayne G. Landis and John F. McLaughlin
    Measuring the impact of ecological disintegrity on human health: A role for epidemiology, Colin L. Soskolne
    Development of a terrestrial index of ecological integrity, a new tool for ecosystem management, James K. Andreasen, Reed Noss, and Nicholas C. Slosser
    EPA Office of Research and Development guidelines for technical evaluation of ecological indicators, William S. Fisher, Laura E. Jackson, and Janis C. Kurtz
    Toward a forest capital index, Bruce A. Wilcox, K. Shawn Smallwood, and James R. Kahn
    MONITORING, LEARNING, AND ADJUSTING
    Overview: Monitoring, learning, and adjusting, David Waltner-Toews
    Ecosystem health and economic development: Rural vision to action, Jock R. Anderson
    Linking biodiversity and agriculture-Challenges and opportunities for sustainable food security, Lori Ann Thrupp
    Evolving opportunities to integrate management of agricultural landscapes and ecosystem health: Sustainability by opportunity, J. Dumanski, S. Joffe, E. Terry, and C. Pieri
    The ecological footprint as indicator for sustainable development-Results of an international case study, D.P. van Vuuren, E.M.W. Smeets, and H.A.M. de Kruijf
    PART II: ISSUES AND METHODS
    MANAGING FOR BIODIVERSITY
    Overview: Managing for biodiversity, Jonna A.K. Mazet
    The Greater Addo National Park, South Africa: Biodiversity conservation as the basis for a healthy ecosystem and human development opportunities
    Graham I.H. Kerley, André F. Boshoff, and Michael H. Knight
    The role of an accidentally introduced fungus in degrading the health of the Stirling Range National Park Ecosystem in South Western Australia: Status and prognosis, David Newsome
    Mangrove conservation and restoration for enhanced resilience, Nguyen Hoang Tri, Phan Nguyen Hong, W. Neil Adger, and P. Mick Kelly
    A comparison of landscape change detection methods, Curtis M. Edmonds, Anne C. Neale, Daniel T. Heggem, James D. Wickham, and K. Bruce Jones
    Relationships among environmental stressors and fish community composition and health: Case study of Chesapeake, Susanna T.Y. Tong
    ASSESSING AND MONITORING BIODIVERSITY
    Overview: Assessing and monitoring biodiversity, Santiago Carrizosa
    Management and conservation of tropical forests with emphasis on rare tree species in Brazil, Flavio B. Gandara and Paulo Y. Kageyama
    The effects of roads on carnivores-A case study of mountain lions (Puma concolor) in California, Melissa M. Grigione and Mike B. Johnson
    A rapid method in ecosystem mapping and monitoring as a tool for managing Costa Rico ecosystem health, Maarten Kappelle, Marco Castro, Heiner Acevedo, Pedro Cordero, Luis Gonzalez, Edgar Mendez, and Huberth Monge
    Identification and monitoring in the context to the national biodiversity strategy in Uruguay, Victor Canton
    CLIMATE CHANGE AND ECOSYSTEM HEALTH
    Overview: Climate change and ecosystem health, Ruth A. Reck
    Climate change, birds and ecosystems-Why should we care? Jeff Price
    A checklist for historical studies of species' responses to climate change, Rafe Sagarin
    Use of long-term field datasets in forestry to model ecosystem responses to environmental change, Csaba Matyas
    The possible impacts of climate change on Pacific island state ecosystems, William C.G. Burns
    Modeling assessment of the biological and economic impact of increased UV radiation on loblolly pine in the Mid-Atlantic States, John J. Streicher and Keith Endres
    EXOTIC SPECIES: ERADICATION REVISITED
    Overview: Exotic species: Eradication revisited, James R. Carey
    Eradication: Is it ecologically, financially, environmentally, and realistically possible? Judith H. Myers
    Why not eradication?, Daniel Simberloff
    Eradication of introduced marine pests, Armand M. Kuris
    LANDSCAPE HEALTH ASSESSMENT
    Overview: Landscape health assessment, Ganapati P. Patil
    Environmental and ecological regional policy research with remote imagery and geospatial information: Issues, approaches, and examples, G.P. Patil and S. Rodriguez
    Application of landscape models to alternative futures analyses, Anne C. Neale, K. Bruce Jones, Malihas S. Nash, Rick D. Van Remontel, James D. Wickham, Kurt H. Ritters, and Robert V. O'Neill
    Echelon screening of remotely sensed change indicators, Wayne L. Myers and Francis R. Beck
    Grassland bird communities and environmental health: The role of landscape features, Douglas H.Johnson, Sharon F. Browder, and Maiken Winter
    An assessment of risks and threats to human health due to the collapse/degradation of the ecosystem, Lada Kochtcheeva and Ashbindu Singh
    Predictability of bird community-based ecological integrity using landscape measurements, Glen D. Johnson, Wayne L. Meyers, Ganapati P. Patil, Timothy J. O'Connell, and Robert P. Brooks
    Landscape biodiversity and biological health risk assessment: The Italian Map of Nature, Giovanni Zurlini, Orazio Rossi, and Vittorio Amadio
    Interior Columbia Basin forests and rangelands, 1930s to present, Paul F. Hessburg, Bradley G. Smith, R. Brion Salter, Roger D. Ottmar, and Ernesto Alvarado
    COMMUNITIES, POLITICS, CULTURE, AND TRADITION
    Overview: Communities, politics, culture, and tradition, Alexander H. Harcourt
    Gambling for sustainability-Local institutions for pasture management in Bhutan, Karma Ura
    Environmental and socio-economic indicators of Great Lakes Basin ecosystem health, Paul Bertram, Harvey Shear, Nancy Stadler-Salt, and Paul Horvatin
    Control of natural resource degradation to restore ecosystem health and to help secure peace in the Middle East, Scott Christiansen
    Biological conservation in Mexico: An overview, Exequiel Ezcurra
    Environmental impacts of mobility and urban policy options: A case study of the Brussels-Capital Region, Paul Safonov, Vincent Favrel, and Walter Hecq
    Relating indicators of ecosystem health and ecological integrity to assess risks to sustainable agriculture and native biota-A case study of Yolo County, California, Minghua Zhang, K. Shawn Smallwood, and Erin Anderson
    Nature policy assessments: Strategic surveying and assessing progress across policy levels, H.J. Verkaar, Hans A.M. de Kruijf, G.W. Lammers, and Rudo Reiling
    Land use change due to urbanization for the Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment Region, Ronald Matheny and Keith Endres
    AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN HEALTH
    Overview: Agriculture and human health, Marc B. Shenker
    Effects of agriculture on ecosystem and human health, Paul D. Gunderson, Nancy B. Young, and Dean T. Stueland
    Infectious disease hazards to agricultural workers, Dean O. Cliver
    Size distribution of PM10 soil dust emissions from harvesting crops, Robert T. Matsumura, Lowell Ashbaugh, Teresa James, Omar Carvacho, and Robert Flocchini
    Evaluating pesticide effects on ecosystems and human health: The Rotenone application at Lake Davis, Marylou Verder-Carlos and Michael O'Malley
    MINING IMPACTS
    Overview: Mining impacts, Jean Lebel
    The ecosystem approach to human health in the context of mining in the developing world, Jean Lebel and Lisa Burley
    Issues of scale in the selection and interpretation of mineral indicators, Deborah J. Shields and Slavko V. Solar
    Conceptual approaches to health and well-being in minerals development: Including illustrations from the case of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa, Camilla Maclean, Alyson Warhurst, and Philip Milner
    Mining and indigenous peoples' contributions to an intercultural and ecosystem understanding of health and well-being, Cristina Echavarria Usher
    Integrating human health into an ecosystem approach to mining, Donna Mergler
    A conceptual framework for the development of tools to track health and well-being in a mining region: Reporting from an Indian study, Maria Ligia Noronha
    Addressing gaps in ecosystem health assessment: The case of mineral resources, Joy Jacqueline Pereira and Ibrahim Komoo
    FOREST HEALTH MONITORING AND RESTORATION
    Overview: Forest health monitoring and restoration, Bruce A. Wilcox
    Restoring naturalness in secondary forest ecosystems enhances their ecological stability, Peter Brang
    The precautionary principle and ecosystem health: A case study from the Jarrah Forest of south-western Australia
    M.C. Calver
    National indicators of forest ecosystem health: A science perspective on the Canadian Initiative, Harry Hirvonen
    Forest health monitoring in the USA: A west coast perspective, Sally Campbell, Barbara Conkling, John Coulston, Peter Neitlich, National Iral Ragenovich, and William Smith
    AGROECOSYSTEMS
    Overview: Integrating agricultural production with ecosystem health, Terrell P. Salmon
    Fallow land patches an ecosystem health in California's Central Valley agroecosystem, John D. Hopkins
    Reduced-disturbance agroecosystems in California, J.P. Mitchell, W.T. Lanini, S.R. Temple, P.N. Brostrom, E.V. Herrero, E.M. Miyao, T.S.Prather, and K.J. Hembree
    Ecologically based pest management: A key pathway to achieving agroecosystem health, Miguel A. Altieri and Clara Ines Nichols
    Irrigation, agricultural drainage, nutrient loading in the Upper Klamath Basin, S.R. Kaffka, A. Dhawan, and D. Kirby
    GRAZING ANIMALS AND RANGELANDS
    Overview: Grazing animals and rangelands, Albert C. Medvitz
    Changing public perceptions of the ranch: A preliminary review of ancient and contemporary claims and processes, Sally K. Fairfax
    A ranchers eye view of grazing native grasslands in California, Richard R. Hamilton
    California grazing lands: Science policy and the rancher, Jack Hanson
    Reinventing the range: To graze or not to graze is not the question, Lynn Huntsinger
    California grazing lands: Whither they go? Albert G. Medvitz
    Protecting the biodiversity of grasslands grazed by livestock in California, Richard J. Reiner
    PART III: CASE STUDIES
    THE COLORADO RIVER DELTA ECOSYSTEM, US-MEXICO
    Overview: The Colorado River delta ecosystem: Ecological issues at the United States-Mexico border, Daniel W. Anderson
    Physical and biological linkages between the Upper and Lower Colorado Delta, Saúl Alvarez-Borrego
    Migratory bird conservation in the Colorado River delta region, Daniel W. Anderson, Eduardo Palacios, Eric Mellink, and Carlos Valdés-Cassillas
    Wildlife disease in the Colorado River delta region as an indicator for ecosystem health, T.E. Rocke and M. Friend
    Contaminants without borders: A regional assessment of the Colorado River delta ecosystem, Miguel A. Mora, Jaqueline Garcia, Maria de la Paz Carpio-Obeso, and Kirke King
    Conservation value and management issues of the wetland and riparian habitats in the Colorado River delta in Mexico, Michael Cohen, Edward P. Glenn, Jason Morrison, and Robert J. Glennon
    CANADIAN PRAIRIE ECOSYSTEM
    Overview: Sustainability of the semiarid prairie ecosystem, Canadian Prairie Ecosystem Study (PECOS), Darwin Anderson
    Historical land use and ecosystem health of the Canadian semi-arid prairie ecosystem, Lisa L. Dale-Burnett and Darwin W. Anderson
    Health and wellbeing in a changing environment: Perceptions of a rural senior Saskatchwan population, M. MacDonald and G. Remus
    Prairie Ecosystem Study (PECOS): From community to chemical elements, the essential role of questionnaires
    H.H. McDuffie, K.M. Semchuk, M. Crossley, A. Senthilselvan, A.M. Rosenberg, L. Hagel, A.J. Cessna, D.G. Irvine, and D.L. Ledingham
    Ecosystem level functional changes in breeding bird guilds in the mixed grassland since agricultural settlement, Todd A. Radenbaugh
    Evaluating agroecosystem sustainability using an integrated model, K.W. Belcher and M. Boehm
    Prediction of soil salinity risk by digital terrain in the Canadian Prairies, Igor V. Florinsky, Robert G. Eilers, and Glenn W. Lelyk
    AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: LAKE TAHOE AND CLEAR LAKE, CALIFORNIA
    Overview: Aquatic ecosystems: Lake Tahoe and Clear Lake, California, Dennis E. Rolston
    Evaluating and managing a multiply stressed ecosystem at Clear Lake, California: A holistic ecosystem approach
    T.H. Suchanek, P.J. Richerson, D.C. Nelson, C.A. Eagles-Smith, D.W. Anderson, J.J. Cech, R. Zierenberg, G. Schlachow, J.F. Mount, S.C. McHatton, D.G. Slotton, L.B. Webber, B.J. Swisher, A.L. Born, and M. Sexton
    Trans-gill and dietary uptake of methylmercury by the Sacramento blackfish, a planktivorous freshwater fish
    Joseph J. Cech Jr., Monica Heekyoung Choi, and Ann G. Houck
    An integrated watershed approach to studying ecosystem health at Lake Tahoe, CA-NV, USA, John E. Reuter, Charles R. Goldman, Thomas A. Cahill, Steve S. Cliff, Alan C. Heyvaert, Alan D. Jassby, Susan Lindstrom, and David M. Rizzo
    AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS: FLORIDA, NEW YORK, AND MARYLAND
    Overview: Aquatic ecosystems: Florida, New York, and Maryland, Dennis E. Rolston
    A tale of two models: IMPLAN and REMI on the ecconomics of Everglades restoration, Richard Weisskoff
    Analysis of land cover and water quality in the New York Catskill-Delaware basins, M.H. Mehaffey, T.G. Wade, M.S. Nash, and C.M. Edmonds
    Using a knowledge base to assess the effects of stream stressors, Lester Yuan
    THE LANGAT BASIN OF MALAYSIA
    Overview: The Langat Basin of Malaysia, Nicholas W. Lerche
    Ecosystem health in Malaysia: A case study of the Langat Basin, M. Nordin, Joy Jacqueline Pereira, A. Fariz, Saiful Arif Abdullah, Ibrahim Komoo Shahruddin Idrus, Pauzi Abdullah, Abdul Hadi Harman Shah, Abdullah Samat, Rospidah Ghazali, W. Mohd Muhiyuddin, and Muhammad Abu Yusuf
    Manufacturing industries and ecosystem health: The case of the Langat Basin, Malaysia, A. Fariz and M. Nordin
    Diagnosing ecosystem health of the Langsat Basin in the context of geohazards, Ibrahim Komoo, J.J. Pereira, and W.M. Muhiyuddin Ibrahim
    River water quality assessment and ecosystem health: Langat River Basin, Selangor, Malaysia, Muhammad Abu Yusuf, Mohd. Nordin Hj. Hasan, and Md. Pauzi Abdullah
    Forest areas and wildlife diversity in the Langat Basin: Indicators for assessing Langat Basin ecosystem health, Saiful Arif Abdullah
    POLLUTION: MTBE
    Overview: Environmental impacts of a motor fuel additive: Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), Daniel P.Y. Chang
    MTBE in ground water of the United States-Occurrence, potential sources, and long-range transport, Michael J. Moran, John S. Zogorski, and Paul J. Squillace
    The European perspective to MTBE as an oxygenate in fuels, Eberhard Morgenroth and Erik Arvin
    Cost benefit considerations for the introduction of gasoline additives such as MTBE, Arturo Keller and Linda Fernandez