Landscape disturbance and biodiversity in mediterranean-type ecosystems : with 86 figures, 3 in color, and 57 tables

Human impact on natural landscapes through urbanization and agricultural expansion becomes more and more dramatic and causes serious environmental problems. This volume examines the effect of landscape disturbance on plant and animal diversity in the five mediterranean-climate regions of the world. It begins with three introductory chapters broadly reviewing the issues of landscape degradation. Further contributions describe regional land use conflicts in each of the five regions. Landscape disturbance and plant diversity and landscape disturbance and animal diversity are treated in separate chapters. Four contributions deal with demography and ecophysiology in vegetation succession following disturbance. The volume closes with a consideration of the future addressing aspects of environmental politics. Front Matter....Pages I-XXV Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Landscape Disturbance in Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems: An Overview....Pages 3-22 From Biodiversity to Ecodiversity — Holistic Conservation of the Biological and Cultural Diversity of Mediterranean Landscapes....Pages 23-53 Ecological Indicators of Landscape Degradation....Pages 55-62 Front Matter....Pages 63-63 Land Use Conflicts in the Western Cape Region of South Africa....Pages 65-79 Impacts of Land Use on Biodiversity in Southwestern Australia....Pages 81-106 Land Use Conflicts in California....Pages 107-126 Abandoned Lands and Land Use Conflicts in Southern France....Pages 127-140 Land Use Changes and Conflicts in the Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems of Western Crete....Pages 141-154 Land Use Changes and Conflicts in Central Chile....Pages 155-168 Front Matter....Pages 169-169 Local Endemism and Plant Conservation in the Cape Floristic Region....Pages 171-188 Managing Biodiversity on the Cape Peninsula, South Africa: A Hotspot Under Pressure....Pages 189-204 Biodiversity and Conservation Biology of Coastal Transition Zones from Mediterranean to Desert Ecosystems: An Intercontinental Comparison....Pages 205-230 Distribution and Ecology of Geophytes in Chile. Conservation Threats to Geophytes in Mediterranean-Type Regions....Pages 231-253 Front Matter....Pages 255-255 Coupling Demography, Physiology and Evolution in Chaparral Shrubs....Pages 257-264 Physiological Ecology of Mediterranean Seeds: Links with Ex Situ Conservation of Plants....Pages 265-272 Aspects of Demography in Post-Fire Mediterranean Plant Communities of Greece....Pages 273-295 Ecophysiological Processes and Demographic Patterns in the Structuring of California Chaparral....Pages 297-310 Front Matter....Pages 311-311 Insect Population Changes and Conservation in the Disturbed Landscapes of Mediterranean-Type Ecosystems....Pages 313-331 Loss of Vertebrate Diversity Following European Settlement of Australian Mediterranean Regions....Pages 333-347 Bird Diversity in a Changing Landscape (Tuscany, Italy)....Pages 349-367 Front Matter....Pages 311-311 Patterns of Mammalian Biodiversity, Urbanization, and Land Use in Southern California....Pages 369-387 Biodiversity in Fluctuating Dry-Land Environments: Basic and Applied Aspects....Pages 389-403 Front Matter....Pages 405-405 Politics and Environment in Mediterranean-Climate Regions....Pages 407-432 Back Matter....Pages 433-451 Human impact on natural landscapes through urbanization and agricultural expansion are becoming more and more dramatic and are the cause of serious environmental problems. This volume examines the effect of landscape disturbance on plant and animal diversity in the five mediterranean-climate regions of the world. It begins with three introductory chapters broadly reviewing the issues of landscape degradation. Further contributions describe regional land use conflicts in each of the five regions. Landscape disturbance and plant diversity, and landscape disturbance and animal diversity are treated in separate chapters. Four contributions deal with demography and ecophysiology in vegetation succession following disturbance. The volume closes with a consideration of the future addressing aspects of environmental politics.