Product Description

Snow Ecology is the first book to integrate the study of snow and ice in the physical, chemical and biological sciences into a multidisciplinary overview of life in, on and under snow. The book opens up a new perspective on snow cover as a habitat for organisms under extreme environmental conditions and as a key factor in the ecology of much of the earth’s surface. Acknowledged experts in the disciplines that constitute snow science provide an understanding of the interrelationships between snow structure and life. It will form a useful textbook for advanced courses in biology, ecology, geography, environmental science and earth science where an important component is devoted to the study of the cryosphere. It will also be useful as a reference text for graduate students, researchers and professionals at academic institutions and in government and non-governmental agencies with environmental concerns.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2589070 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 378 pages

Review
‘This book will be an important resource for many years, and it should be on the bookshelf of every ecologist concerned with polar or alpine regions.’ Trends in Ecology and Evolution

Customer Reviews

An excellent text, well edited, comprehensive & accessible.
This is a well presented and carefully written collection of work, which draws together studies on snow-covered ecosystems from many disciplines. It is the first book to have taken such an approach to the investigation of snow and ice, incorporating physical, chemical and biological aspects. Suitable both as an undergraduate textbook and as a reference text for researchers in this rapidly expanding field.

Each of the 7 chapters is composed well and comprehensively referenced. The contributing authors are all respected researchers within their own specialisms - which makes the overall synthesis of the text a remarkable review of the current level of knowledge and a testament to the quality of the editorial team. My major criticism would be that the book does not go quite far enough in its integration of disciplines - extending the chapter base to cover more ice (sea & glacier) related work would have been welcome. However, it is titled 'Snow Ecology' and it covers snow ecosystems impressively.

Chapters 2, 3 and 4 stand out as superb introductions to the physical, chemical and microbiological study of snow (and ice), making the collection a very accessible work. It contains appropriate diagrams, which are clear throughout - aiding rather than impeding understanding. Colour plates are used where black and white could not convey sufficient information.

This is an excellent collection, well edited, and comprehensively referenced - an important step towards the interdisciplinary study of snow-covered ecosystems.