For more than a century, the ecologists have been engaged in the study of the
patterns of diversity at different levels of organization (populations, communities
and ecosystems) and their relationships with the biotic and abiotic environment.
Accelerated rates of habitat destruction and consequent loss of species have
caused global concern for the biological diversity, and it is reflected in the
Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in 1992. International efforts are
being made to inventorise, assess and monitor biodiversity, to understand its
ecological functions, and to conserve it. Biodiversity issues have transcended
beyond biology and ecology into the domains of technology, sociology, economics,
anthropology, law and politics.
Most studies and discussions are focused on terrestrial ecosystems, particularly
the tropical rainforests. The biodiversity of inland water ecosystems has just
started receiving some attention. Though the wetlands are among the most fragile
and threatened ecosystems, and are also considered to be highly productive and
rich in biodiversity, there is very little information even on their total biological
diversity, much less on the factors regulating it or on its functions.
Fourteen contributions in this volume deal with several kinds of wetlands
&endash; riverine floodplains, mangroves, karst wetlands, bogs and fens, and
seasonal wetlands of arid regions - and most of the groups of plants and animals,
as well as microbes. The authors of these contributions examine species, habitat
and functional diversity, and discuss a wide range of issues &endash; from factors
governing biodiversity to restoration and conservation. The contributions in
the second volume will extend the coverage geographically, and to more kinds
of wetlands, organisms and issues. We will attempt a synthesis of the state
of our knowledge at the end.
Preface
Articles
- Biodiversity
in wetlands: an introduction, Brij Gopal and W.J. Junk
- The importance of stream-wetland-systems for biodiversity: a tropical perspective,
Karl Matthias Wantzen and Wolfgang Johannes Junk
- Riverine wetlands and biodiversity conservation in tropical asia, David Dudgeon
- Fish biodiversity in floodplains and their associated
rivers,R.L Welcomme
- Biodiversity in the high paraná river floodplain,A.A. Agostinho, S.M.
Thomaz, C.V. Minte-Vera and K.O. Winemiller
- Mechanisms for development and maintenance of biodiversity in neotropical
floodplains, Wolfgang J. Junk
- Biodiversity of a danubian floodplain: structural, functional and compositional
aspects, Klement Tockner, Christian Baumgartner, Fritz Schiemer and J.V. Ward
- Determinants of avian diversity in neotropical mangrove forests, Gaëtan
Lefebvre and Brigitte Poulin
- Biodiversity in wetlands of dry regions (drylands),L. Brendonck and W.D.Williams
- Floristic diversity in the Okavango Delta, Botswana as an endogenous product
of biological activity, W.N. Ellery, T.S. McCarthy and J.M. Dangerfield
- Karst wetlands biodiversity and continuity through major climatic change:
an example from arid tropical western australia, W.F. Humphreys
- Biodiversity of estonian wetlands, Viktor Masing, Jaanus Paal and Andres Kuresoo
- Bacterial biodiversity in wetlands, Paul I. Boon - Restoration of biodiversity
to coastal and inland wetlands, Joy B. Zedler
- International mechanisms for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands,
Devin M. Bartley
Index
Tentative Contents of Vol. 2
- Tropical wetlands in E. Africa, F.
Bugenyi et al. - Macroinvertebrates in African wetlands, D.M. Harper
- Biodiversity in fens, J.T.A. Verhoeven - Macroinvertebrates diversity in Australia,
J.A. Davis
- Functions of biodiversity in Central European wetlands, J. Kvet and S. Hasak
- Indian Mangroves, A.G. Untawale - Biodiversity
in Parana River Floodplain, J.J. Neiff
- Biodiversity in R. Rhone floodplain, B. Statzner - Periphyton biodiversity,
G. Lakatos
- Mangroves and Coastal wetlands, R.R. Twilley - Lower Danube floodplain biodiversity
changes, A. Vadineanu
- Biodiversity in pantanal, C.J. da Silva and W.J. Junk
- Monosoonal wetlands, B. Gopal
- Synthesis, B. Gopal & W.J. Junk
Edited by B. Gopal, W.J. Junk & J.A. Davis
2000, viii and 354 pages with 62 figures and 41 tables.
Paperbound.ISBN: 90-5782-059-5
€ 89