The world's mediterranean-type climate regions (including areas within the Mediterranean, South Africa, Australia, California, and Chile) have long been of interest to biologists by virtue of their extraordinary biodiversity and the appearance of evolutionary convergence between these disparate regions. These regions contain many rare and endemic species. Their mild climate makes them appealing places to live and visit and this has resulted in numerous threats to the species and communities that occupy them. Threats include a wide range of factors such as habitat loss due to development and agriculture, disturbance, invasive species, and climate change. As a result, they continue to attract far more attention than their limited geographic area might suggest. This book provides a concise but comprehensive introduction to mediterranean-type ecosystems. It is an accessible text which provides an authoritative overview of the topic. As with other books in the Biology of Habitats Series, the emphasis in this book is on the organisms that dominate these regions although their management, conservation, and restoration are also considered.

The Biology of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems (Biology of Habitats Series)

Science & Math

Esler, Karen J.

Jacobsen, Anna L.

Pratt, R. Brandon

Biological Sciences

Oxford University Press

The fynbos region is one of the most spectacularly diverse places on Earth. This is not an idle statement. When one considers the diversity of insects, freshwater and marine species also associated with the Cape, this hotspot is arguably the hottest of all.  It is also confusingly heterogeneous, with a diversity of fine-scale habitats, from wetlands in the lowlands to seeps in the mountains, unique soil, nutrient, aspect and rainfall conditions, all of which combine to sustain and drive this diversity. Fynbos is a fire-adapted vegetation and needs fire to sustain itself: without fire the vegetation would thicken and senesce, permit trees to enter and dominate the system, and eventually exclude the precious nutrients liberated by fire and which the system depends upon for rejuvenation.  This book is a guide that will help people who visit, live, manage or own land in the Fynbos Biome to appreciate and manage its extraordinary natural richness.

Fynbos - ecology and management

Briza

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Books by Esler, Karen J.