Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Advances in Urban Ecology

Integrating Humans and Ecological Processes in Urban Ecosystems

  • Book
  • © 2008

Overview

Authors:
  1. Marina Alberti

    1. University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

  • Presents a unified urban ecology theory linking human and ecological processes

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this book

Log in via an institution
eBook USD 139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

Licence this eBook for your library

Institutional subscriptions

Table of contents (10 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xviii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. The Urban Ecosystem

    Pages 1-26

  3. Humans as a Component of Ecosystems

    Pages 27-59

  4. Urban Patterns and Ecosystem Function

    Pages 61-92

  5. Landscape Signatures

    Pages 93-131

  6. Hydrological Processes

    Pages 133-161

  7. Biogeochemical Processes

    Pages 163-181

  8. Atmospheric Processes

    Pages 183-196

  9. Population and Community Dynamics

    Pages 197-223

  10. Futures of Urban Ecosystems

    Pages 225-250

  11. Urban Ecology: A Synthesis

    Pages 251-271

  12. Back Matter

    Pages 273-366
    Download chapter PDF
Back to top

Keywords

About this book

Natural and social scientists face a great challenge in the coming decades: to understand the role that humans play in ecosystems, particularly urban ecosystems. Cities and urbanizing regions are complex coupled hum- natural systems in which people are the dominant agents. As humans transform natural landscapes into highly human-dominated environments, they create a new set of ecological conditions by changing ecosystem processes and dynamics. Urbanization changes natural habitats and species composition, alters hydrological systems, and modifies energy flows and nutrient cycles. Although the impacts of urban development on ecosystems occur locally, they cause environmental changes at larger scales. Envir- mental changes resulting from urbanization influence human behaviors and dynamics and affect human health and well-being. Remarkable progress has been made in studying the impact of urban de- lopment on ecosystem functions (McDonnell and Pickett 1993, McDonnell et al. 1997, Grimm et al. 2000, Pickett et al. 2001, Alberti et al. 2003), yet the interactions and feedback between human processes and ecosystem dynamics in urbanizing regions are still poorly understood. In this book I argue that new syntheses across the natural and social sciences are necessary if urban and ecological dynamics are to be successfully integrated into a common fra- work to advance urban ecology research. If we remain within the traditional disciplinary boundaries, we will not make progress towards a theory of urban ecosystems as coupled human-ecological systems, because no single disc- line can provide an unbiased and integrated perspective.

Authors and Affiliations

  • University of Washington, Seattle, USA

    Marina Alberti

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Advances in Urban Ecology

  • Book Subtitle: Integrating Humans and Ecological Processes in Urban Ecosystems

  • Authors: Marina Alberti

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75510-6

  • Publisher: Springer New York, NY

  • eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life Sciences, Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag US 2008

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-387-75509-0Published: 07 January 2008

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-0-387-92291-1Published: 10 December 2008

  • eBook ISBN: 978-0-387-75510-6Published: 20 December 2007

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVIII, 366

  • Number of Illustrations: 67 b/w illustrations, 10 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Urban Ecology, Environment, general

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Back to top

Search

Navigation