World atlas of biodiversity : earth's living resources in the 21st century

The World Atlas of Biodiversity is an updated edition of Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth's Living Resources, originally published in 1992 and reissued in 2000 as Global Biodiversity: Earth's living resources in the 21st Century. This 2002 edition, totally redesigned and updated, includes new data and graphics, additional photos, and additional material on food issues and biodiversity, as well as an entirely new chapter on protected areas and other conservation issues.World Atlas of Biodiversity addresses the remarkable growth in concern at all levels for living things and the environment, and increased appreciation of the links between the state of ecosystems and the state of humankind. Building on a wealth of research and analysis by the conservation community worldwide, this book provides a comprehensive and accessible view of key global issues in biodiversity. It outlines some of the broad ecological relationships between humans and the rest of the material world and summarizes information on the health of the planet. Opening with an outline of some fundamental aspects of material cycles and energy flow in the biosphere, the book goes on to discuss the expansion of this diversity through geological time and the pattern of its distribution over the surface of the Earth, and trends in the condition of the main ecosystem types and the species integral to them. 1. The Biosphere : Physical Geography Of The Earth ; Primary Production In The Biosphere ; Hypsographic Curve ; Global Annual Net Primary Production ; Estimated Global Carbon Budget And Biomass Totals -- 2. The Diversity Of Organisms : The Phylogenetic Tree ; Estimated Numbers Of Described Species, And Possible Global Total ; Key Features Of The Major Groups Of Living Organisms ; New Species Discoveries ; Improving Taxonomic Knowledge And Capacity -- 3. Biodiversity Through Time : The Four Eons Of The Geological Timescale ; Periods And Eras Of The Phanerozoic ; Animal Family Diversity Through Time ; Plant Diversity Through Time ; Frequency Of Percent Extinction Per Million Year Period ; Number Of Family Extinctions Per Geological Interval Through The Phanerozoic ; The Principal Mass Extinctions In The Phanerozoic Fossil Record -- 4. Humans, Food And Biodiversity : Early Human Dispersal ; Livestock Breeds: Numbers And Status ; Fao World Diet Classes ; Human Population Density ; Terrestrial Wilderness ; Vertebrate Extinctions Since Ad1500 ; Threatened Mammal Species ; Critically Endangered Mammals And Birds ; Threatened Bird Species Density ; Human Population ; Vertebrate Extinctions By Period Since Ad1500 ; Top Ten Food Commodities, Ranked By Percentage Contribution To Global Food Supply ; World Diet Classes ; Examples Of Diversity In Agricultural Systems ; Number Of Individuals And Biomass, Selected Organisms ; Land Converted To Cropland ; Estimated Large Herbivore Numbers And Biomass In Mesolithic And Modern Britain ; Late Pleistocene Extinct And Living Genera Of Large Animals ; Numbers Of Extinct Animal Species According To Iucn ; Island Diversity At Risk: Birds ; Threatened Species ; Number Of Threatened Animal Species In Major Biomes ; Loss Of Diversity In Agricultural Genetic Resources ; 'lazarus Species' 5.^ Terrestrial Biodiversity : Photosynthetic Activity On Land ; Global Land Cover ; Diversity Of Vascular Plant Species ; Biodiversity At Country Level ; Flowering Plant Family Density ; Terrestrial Vertebrate Family Density ; Current Forest Distribution ; Non-forest Terrestrial Ecosystems ; A Typical Species-area Plot ; Global Distribution Of Land Area, By Latitude Bands ; Different Definitions Of Forest Cover ; Sample Effects On Forest Area Estimates Of Different Forest Definitions ; Global Area Of Five Main Forest Types ; Important Families And Genera, And Numbers Of Species,^ In Four Areas Of Temperate Broadleaf Deciduous Forest ; Biomass And Carbon Storage In The World's Major Forest Types ; Tree Species Richness In Tropical Moist Forests ; Estimated Annual Change In Forest Cover 1990-2000 ; Global Protection Of Forests Within Protected Areas In Iucn Categories I-vi ; Estimated Plant Species Richness In The Five Regions Of Mediterranean-type Climate ; Defining Ecosystems ; Species And Energy ; Fire In Temperate And Boreal Forest ; Temperate Forest Bird Trends ; Grassland Bird Trends --^ 6. Marine Biodiversity : Coral Reef Hotspots ; Shark Family Diversity ; Marine Turtle Diversity ; Mangrove Diversity ; Seagrass Species Diversity ; Coral Diversity ; Marine Fisheries Catch And Discards ; Species Contributing Most To Global Marine Fisheries ; Marine Fisheries Landings By Major Group ; Global Trends In The State Of World Stocks Since 1974 ; Trends In Global Fisheries Catch Since 1970 ; Marine Aquaculture Production ; Marine Population Trends ; Area And Maximum Depth Of The World's Oceans And Seas ; Relative Areas Of Continental Shelves And Open Ocean ; Marine Diversity By Phylum ; Diversity Of Craniates In The Sea By Class ; Diversity Of Fishes In The Seas By Order ; Marine Tetrapod Diversity ; Regional Distribution Of Breeding In Seabirds ; Diversity Of Mangroves ; Current Mangrove Cover ; Diversity Of Stony Corals In The World Scleractinia ; Coral Reef Area ; Taxonomic Distribution And Status Of Threatened Marine Animals ; Life In Sediments ; Marine Introductions. 7. Inland Water Biodiversity : Freshwater Fish Family Diversity ; Major Areas Of Diversity Of Inland Water Fish ; Major Areas Of Diversity Of Inland Water Mollusks ; Major Areas Of Diversity Of Selected Inland Water Crustacean Groups ; Priority River Basins ; Reported Global Inland Fisheries Production ; Inland Water Fish Introductions ; Freshwater Population Trends ; River Basin Richness And Vulnerability ; Changes In Condition Of Sample Of Freshwater Lakes Between 1950s And 1980s ; Components Of The Hydrosphere ; Physical And Biodiversity Features Of Major Long-lived Lakes ; Partial List Of Global Hotspots Of Freshwater Biodiversity ; Insects Of Inland Waters ; Fish Diversity In Inland Waters, By Order ; Tetrapod Diversity In Inland Waters ; Major Inland Fishery Countries ; Numbers Of Threatened Freshwater Fishes In Selected Countries ; Taxonomic Distribution And Status Of Threatened Inland Water Vertebrates ; Thirty High-priority River Basins ; Saline And Soda Lakes ; Wetland Loss In Asian Drylands -- 8. Global Biodiversity: Responding To Change : World Protected Areas ; Centers Of Plant Diversity ; Major Areas Of Amphibian Diversity ; Endemic Bird Areas ; Marine Protected Areas ; International Protected Area Agreements ; Development Of The Global Network Of Protected Areas ; Possible Future Scenarios From Geo 3, Evaluated With Rivm Image ; Possible Future Scenarios, Globio ; Major Global Conventions Relevant To Biodiversity Maintenance ; Pioneering Ngos In Biodiversity Conversation ; The Precautionary Principle ; Systematic Conservation Planning ; Negotiating A Multilateral Treaty -- Appendices : 1. The Phyla Of Living Organisms ; 2. Important Food Crops ; 3. Domestic Livestock ; 4. Recent Vertebrate Extinctions ; 5. Biodiversity At Country Level ; 6. Important Areas For Freshwater Biodiversity. Brian Groombridge & Martin D. Jenkins. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The World Atlas of Biodiversity is an updated edition of Global Status of the Earth's Living Resources, originally published in 1992 and reissued in 2000 as Global Earth's living resources in the 21st Century. This 2002 edition, totally redesigned and updated, includes new data and graphics, additional photos, and additional material on food issues and biodiversity, as well as an entirely new chapter on protected areas and other conservation issues. World Atlas of Biodiversity addresses the remarkable growth in concern at all levels for living things and the environment, and increased appreciation of the links between the state of ecosystems and the state of humankind. Building on a wealth of research and analysis by the conservation community worldwide, this book provides a comprehensive and accessible view of key global issues in biodiversity. It outlines some of the broad ecological relationships between humans and the rest of the material world and summarizes information on the health of the planet. Opening with an outline of some fundamental aspects of material cycles and energy flow in the biosphere, the book goes on to discuss the expansion of this diversity through geological time and the pattern of its distribution over the surface of the Earth, and trends in the condition of the main ecosystem types and the species integral to them.