Biodegradation is a key phenomen among environmental processes. Low degradation rates lead to the persistence of chemicals in the environment and, as a consequence, to delayed or long-term effects, which may be even unknown by now. In this volume the editor has pulled together the newest results of research in biodegradation and persistence of potential environmentally harmful substances and the complex process involved. The main focus is on the microbial degradation, the evolution and pre...

Biodegradation is a key phenomen among environmental processes. Low degradation rates lead to the persistence of chemicals in the environment and, as a consequence, to delayed or long-term effects, which may be even unknown by now. In this volume the editor has pulled together the newest results of research in biodegradation and persistence of potential environmentally harmful substances and the complex process involved. The main focus is on the microbial degradation, the evolution and pre...

Permaculture is a design system for sustainable human habitats and basis of a worldwide citizen-led movement present in over 100 countries.For decades, permaculture practitioners have devised creative responses to changes in local climatic conditions. In doing so, they have developed a collective knowledge and experience invaluable to global efforts to address climate change.This book seeks to bring this expertise from the margins into the centre of policy debates and mainstream action. It de...

Rapid environmental change calls for individuals and societies with an ability to transform our interactions with each other and the ecosystems upon which we depend. Adaptive capacity - the ability of a social-ecological system (or the components of that system) to be robust to disturbances and capable of responding to changes - is increasingly recognized as a critical attribute of multi-level environmental governance. This unique volume offers the first interdisciplinary and integrative p...

The book addresses the questions: Is Australia’s rapidly growing human population and economy environmentally sustainable for its estuaries and coasts? What is needed to enable sustainable development?To answer these questions, this book reports detailed studies of 20 iconic Australian estuaries and bays by leading Australian estuarine scientists.That knowledge is synthesised in time and space across Australia to suggest what Australian estuaries will look like in 2050 and ...

Environmental Chemistry is a relatively young science. Interest in this subject, however, is growing very rapidly and, although no agreement has been reached as yet about the exact content and limits of this interdisciplinary discipline, there appears to be increasing interest in seeing environmental topics which are based on chemistry embodied in this subject. One of the first objectives of Environ mental Chemistry must be the study of the environment and of natural chemical processes whi...

An important purpose of The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry is to aid the understanding of distribution and chemical reaction processes which occur in the environment. Volume 1, Part E of this series is dedicated to Environmental Systems, Physical Properties of the Atmosphere, Global Transport and the Thermodynamics of Ecosystems.

Environmental Chemistry is a relatively young science. Interest in this subject, however, is growing very rapidly and, although no agreement has been reached as yet about the exact content and limits of this interdisciplinary discipline, there appears to be increasing interest in seeing environmental topics which are based on chemistry embodied in this subject. One of the first objectives of Environmental Chemistry must be the study of the environment and of natural chemical processes whic...

This book presents a critical review of a criterion of risk, created to assess the flood risk to heritage buildings, and evaluates this criterion by applying it to the sample Portuguese heritage buildings. In a first approach, the total number of potential parameters is effectively reduced and the selected criteria are divided into two different groups: the monument’s location in relation to a waterway, and the behaviour of its construction material in contact with water.Above all,...

Rice is the staple food for half of the world’s population. Consumption of rice is the major exposure route globally to the class one, non-threshold carcinogen inorganic arsenic. This book explains the sources of arsenic to paddy soils and the biogeochemical processes and plant physiological attributes of paddy soil-rice ecosystems that lead to high concentrations of arsenic in rice grain. It presents the global pattern of arsenic concentration and speciation in rice, discusses human expos...

This pioneering book addresses the entirety of river flooding issues in the Upper Vistula Basin, where considerable flood generation potential exists. It analyses the factors influencing flood risk, investigates variations in observation records and discusses projections for the future and adaptation to changing risk. It serves the general interest in understanding the floods that cause massive destruction in Europe, with dozens of fatalities and tremendous material damages. This interdisc...