Climate and Environmental Systems

David Money, the author of "Climate, Soils and Vegetation", explains in this book the circulations of energy and matter which create climatic characteristics, recognizable soil profiles and forms of vegetation. He stresses their inter-relationships in various ecosystems, from micro-habitats to the major biomes, and examines the influences of life-forms, from bacterial roles in nutrient cycling to the complex reactions to human interference. In the final section there is a consideration of ways in which humans disturb their environmental systems with pointers as a means of predicting the effects. Topics covered include the advantages of satellite monitoring, the effects of deforestation, the increasing desertification, the problems of waste disposal, the results of air pollution, the climatic effects of urbanization, and the interdependence of the components of the global system. The author has made use of remote sensing pictures in this book and has provided climatic data to add depth to the description, and plant classifications to help field observations.