In recent decades, scientists and the public have become increasingly aware of, and concerned by, the threat to the diversity of life on the planet posed by climate change and increasing environmental pressures. This is the fourth volume in "Biodiversity", a major, four-volume collection of high-quality research that seeks to provide readers with a comprehensive view of what biodiversity is, the threats faced and the possibilities for management and preservation. Major themes covered include: the importance of biodiversity; how the biodiversity of flora and fauna can be enriched; approaches to nature conservation across the world; the biodiversity of specific ecosystems and their vulnerability to damage or destruction by environmental pressures; the dynamics, biological interactions and interrelations that play a part in biodiversity; the relationship between biodiversity and sustainable resources, such as in the production of plants for medical use; how environmental change is affecting diversity; new analytical methods for assessing and understanding biodiversity; and the investigation and preservation of the biosphere as a whole. These volumes contribute a great deal to what might be the most urgent issue facing us today, and are valuable for students, researchers and policy-makers in environmental and ecological sciences and development.
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