Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature (The MIT Press)

**An interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistoric hunting to modern energy production.** The biosphere―the Earth's thin layer of life―dates from nearly four billion years ago, when the first simple organisms appeared. Many species have exerted enormous influence on the biosphere's character and productivity, but none has transformed the Earth in so many ways and on such a scale as __Homo sapiens__. In __Harvesting the Biosphere__, Vaclav Smil offers an interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistory to the present day. Smil examines all harvests―from prehistoric man's hunting of megafauna to modern crop production―and all uses of harvested biomass, including energy, food, and raw materials. Without harvesting of the biomass, Smil points out, there would be no story of human evolution and advancing civilization; but at the same time, the increasing extent and intensity of present-day biomass harvests are changing the very foundations of civilization's well-being. In his detailed and comprehensive account, Smil presents the best possible quantifications of past and current global losses in order to assess the evolution and extent of biomass harvests. Drawing on the latest work in disciplines ranging from anthropology to environmental science, Smil offers a valuable long-term, planet-wide perspective on human-caused environmental change. "The biosphere -- the Earth's thin layer of life -- dates from nearly four billion years ago, when the first simple organisms appeared. Many species have exerted enormous influence on the biosphere's character and productivity, but none has transformed the Earth in so many ways and on such a scale as Homo sapiens. In Harvesting the Biosphere, Vaclav Smil offers an interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistory to the present day. Smil examines all harvests -- from prehistoric man's hunting of megafauna to modern crop production -- and all uses of harvested biomass, including energy, food, and raw materials. Without harvesting of the biomass, Smil points out, there would be no story of human evolution and advancing civilization; but at the same time, the increasing extent and intensity of present-day biomass harvests are changing the very foundations of civilization's well-being. In his detailed and comprehensive account, Smil presents the best possible quantifications of past and current global losses in order to assess the evolution and extent of biomass harvests. Drawing on the latest work in disciplines ranging from anthropology to environmental science, Smil offers a valuable long-term, planet-wide perspective on human-caused environmental change"--Publisher "The biosphere -- the Earth's thin layer of life -- dates from nearly four billion years ago, when the first simple organisms appeared. Many species have exerted enormous influence on the biosphere's character and productivity, but none has transformed the Earth in so many ways and on such a scale as Homo sapiens. In Harvesting the Biosphere, Vaclav Smil offers an interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistory to the present day. Smil examines all harvests -- from prehistoric man's hunting of megafauna to modern crop production -- and all uses of harvested biomass, including energy, food, and raw materials. Without harvesting of the biomass, Smil points out, there would be no story of human evolution and advancing civilization; but at the same time, the increasing extent and intensity of present-day biomass harvests are changing the very foundations of civilization's well-being. In his detailed and comprehensive account, Smil presents the best possible quantifications of past and current global losses in order to assess the evolution and extent of biomass harvests. Drawing on the latest work in disciplines ranging from anthropology to environmental science, Smil offers a valuable long-term, planet-wide perspective on human-caused environmental change."--Jacket The biosphere - the Earth's thin layer of life - dates from nearly four billion years ago, when the first simple organisms appeared. Many species have exerted enormous influence on the biosphere's character and productivity, but none has transformed the Earth in so many ways and on such a scale as Homo sapiens. In this book, the author offers an interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistory to the twenty-first century. The author examines all harvests - from prehistoric man's hunting of megafauna to modern crop production - and all uses of harvested biomass, including energy, food, and raw materials. Without harvesting of the biomass, the author points out, there would be no story of human evolution and advancing civilization; but at the same time, the increasing extent and intensity of contemporary biomass harvests are changing the very foundations of civilization's well-being. In this detailed and comprehensive account, the author presents the best possible quantifications of past and current global losses in order to assess the evolution and extent of biomass harvests. Drawing on work in disciplines ranging from anthropology to environmental science, this book offers a long-term, planet-wide perspective on human-caused environmental change. -- Jacket Contents 6 Preface 8 I The Earth’s Biomass: Stores, Productivity, Harvests 10 1 Biomass: Definitions and Compositions 14 2 Biomass Stores: Means and Extremes 24 3 Biomass Productivities 40 4 Phytomass Harvests 50 5 Zoomass Harvests 60 6 Land Cover and Productivity Changes 68 II History of the Harvests: From Foraging to Globalization 74 7 The Evolution of Foraging 80 8 Crops and Animals 112 9 Biomass Fuels and Raw Materials 140 III Adding Up the Claims: Harvests, Losses, and Trends 160 10 Changing Land Cover and Land Use 166 11 Harvesting the Biosphere 192 12 Long-Term Trends and Possible Worlds 230 Scientific Units and Prefixes 262 References 264 Subject Index 306 Species Index 314