The Ispra Course on Ecological Assessment of Environmental Degradation, Pollution and Recovery'' was structured according to the following topics: (a) terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem concept; (b) structure, functions and evolution of the ecosystem in relation to the natural and anthropogenic influences, and (c) concept of stress, assessment and restoration of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These general concepts were developed in a series of lectures presented by well-known experts in their specific fields, taking into account the ecological principles and environmental management. For the various aspects of the environmental problems, the state-of-the-art, the principles of restoration techniques, the results obtained by their application and the research needs to acquire a better knowledge of the ecological processes, were discussed. The lectures were illustrated by several case studies concerning forests, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, soil and the interrelations between air and terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

This book contains the lectures presented at the course, reviewed by the authors, and complemented throughout with numerous figures and tables.

• Front Cover 2
• Ecological Assessment of Environmental Degradation, Pollution and Recovery 5
• Copyright Page 6
• Preface 7
• Table of Contents 13
• List of Contributors 15
• Chapter 1. The evolution of terrestrial ecosystems 17
  • 1.1 INTRODUCTION 17
  • 1.2 DO ECOSYSTEMS EXIST? 18
  • 1.3 ARE ECOSYSTEMS OF A CYBERNETIC NATURE? 19
  • 1.4 ARE THERE EMERGING PROPERTIES AT THE ECOSYSTEM LEVEL? 20
  • 1.5 ARE THERE WELL DEFINED BOUNDARIES FOR ECOSYSTEMS? 20
  • 1.6 CAN ECOSYSTEMS BE CONSIDERED AS UNITS OF SELECTION? 21
  • 1.7 DO ECOSYSTEMS EVOLVE? 22
  • 1.8 DO ECOSYSTEMS CONVERGE? 32