The environment in ecological systems includes both physical parameters and biotic attributes, and is a holocoenotic, dynamically interlinked system. Its investigation requires a dialectical approach which examines the different parts, but integrates the organism and the environment into a dynamic whole. Environment and ecology place emphasis on the real world. Many decisions that directly or indirectly affect the balance of our environment are based on individual, community, state, national and international decisions. Given that ecological systems now also involve the economy, ecology and its relationship with the environment are taking on an increasingly important role in today's world.This book includes 32 chapters dealing with the different aspects cited above. It discusses transhumance activities; social changes in new life environments; dendrohistorical studies; recreation and tourism based on natural resources; physical and social geographical studies on the riparian borders; threats and environmental interactions in mountain forest ecosystems; the evolution of the traditional agricultural landscapes; the landscapes of Sierra Nevada; cork oak forests and climate change; the causes of flooding; water scarcity and adaptation in agriculture; nutrient pollution in rivers; ethnobotanical studies; and phenological observations of young beech stands.The topics discussed in this book will attract the attention of students and researchers from different disciplines, and will prove fruitful for all scholars working under the umbrella of environment and ecology studies.
About the Author: Dr. Recep Efe completed his BA at the Department of Geography at Istanbul University, and received his MSc and PhD from the Institute of Marine Sciences and Geography at the same university. He has authored and edited 34 national and international books on geography, ecology, and published more than 120 papers in the fields of ecology, human-natural environment interactions, ecotourism, and biogeography. In addition, he has acted as editor and guest editor of journals such as Journal of Environmental Biology, Human Geographies, and Geographical Forum. He conducts studies and projects in the fields of ecology, ecosystem analysis, geomorphology, vegetation, biogeography, land degradation, land use, and ecotourism.Dr. Munir Ozturk holds a DSc in Plant Ecology from Ege University, Izmir, Turkey, and has worked at Munich Technical University, Germany, Tohoku University, Japan, and the University of Chapel Hill, USA. He is the Founding Director of the Centre for Environmental Studies at Ege University. He has published and edited over 30 books, and has acted as guest editor for journals such as The Malaysian Forester, Springer Environmental Geology, and Journal of Environmental Biology. He is the author of over 400 papers on ecological studies of both medicinal and general plants and on biomonitoring in different habitats. Dr. Ozturk has worked as a Consultant Fellow at the Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia, and is currently working as Distinguished Visiting Scientist at the ICCBS, Karachi University, Pakistan.