عنوان

The earth's biosphere :

(Number (ISBN

0262283824

(Number (ISBN

0585443831

(Number (ISBN

9780262283823

(Number (ISBN

9780585443836

Erroneous ISBN

0262194724

Erroneous ISBN

0262692988

Number

b727032

Title Proper

The earth's biosphere :

General Material Designation

[Book]

Other Title Information

evolution, dynamics, and change /

First Statement of Responsibility

Vaclav Smil.

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Cambridge, Mass. :

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

MIT Press,

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

©2002.

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

1 online resource (viii, 346 pages) :

Other Physical Details

illustrations, maps

Text of Note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 289-328) and index.

Text of Note

A comprehensive overview of Earth's biosphere, written with scientific rigor and essay-like flair.In his latest book, Vaclav Smil tells the story of the Earth's biosphere from its origins to its near and long-term future. He explains the workings of its parts and what is known about their interactions. With essay-like flair, he examines the biosphere's physics, chemistry, biology, geology, oceanography, energy, climatology, and ecology, as well as the changes caused by human activity. He provides both the basics of the story and surprising asides illustrating critical but often neglected aspects of biospheric complexity.Smil begins with a history of the modern idea of the biosphere, focusing on the development of the concept by Russian scientist Vladimir Vernadsky. He explores the probability of life elsewhere in the universe, life's evolution and metabolism, and the biosphere's extent, mass, productivity, and grand-scale organization. Smil offers fresh approaches to such well-known phenomena as solar radiation and plate tectonics and introduces lesser-known topics such as the quarter-power scaling of animal and plant metabolism across body sizes and metabolic pathways. He also examines two sets of fundamental relationships that have profoundly influenced the evolution of life and the persistence of the biosphere: symbiosis and the role of life's complexity as a determinant of biomass productivity and resilience. And he voices concern about the future course of human-caused global environmental change, which could compromise the biosphere's integrity and threaten the survival of modern civilization.

Source for Acquisition/Subscription Address

MIT Press

Source for Acquisition/Subscription Address

MIT Press

Stock Number

2551

Stock Number

9780262283823

Title

Earth's biosphere.

International Standard Book Number

0262194724

Biosphere.

Biosphere.

Biosphere.

NATURE-- Ecology.

NATURE-- Ecosystems & Habitats-- Wilderness.

SCIENCE-- Environmental Science (see also Chemistry-- Environmental)

SCIENCE-- Life Sciences-- Ecology.

NAT-- 010000

NAT-- 045040

SCI-- 020000

SCI-- 026000

Number

Edition

Class number

Book number

Class number

System Code

Smil, Vaclav.

Date of Transaction

20201213225359.0

Cataloguing Rules (Descriptive Conventions))

pn

Electronic name

[Book]

Y