The Earth as Transformed by Human Action
Global and Regional Changes in the Biosphere over the Past 300 Years

The purpose of this book is to document the changes in the biosphere that have taken place over the last 300 years.

B. L. Turner (Edited by), William C. Clark (Edited by), Robert W. Kates (Edited by), John F. Richards (Edited by), Jessica T. Mathews (Edited by), William B. Meyer (Edited by)

9780521446303, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 29 January 1993

732 pages, 14 b/w illus. 156 tables
28 x 21.4 x 3.9 cm, 1.68 kg

'Despite the large number of authors and the enormous amount of information presented in each chapter, individual chapters read well, and the book as a whole is well-organised. The editors have produced a book with a clear conceptual theme and conformity of style among chapters; the tables and figures are exceptional. An important reference on human ecology that belongs in the library of every environmental scientist …' Choice

The Earth as Transformed by Human Action is the culmination of a mammoth undertaking involving the examination of the toll our continual strides forward, technical and social, take on our world. The purpose of such a study is to document the changes in the biosphere that have taken place over the last 300 years, to contrast global patterns of change to those appearing on a regional level, and to explain the major human forces that have driven these changes. The first section deals strictly with the major human forces of the past 300 years and the second is a detailed account of the transformations of the global environment wrought by human action. The final section examines a range of perspectives and theories that purport to explain human actions with regard to the biosphere.

Foreword
Preface
1. The great transformation
Part I. Changes in Population and Society: 2. Long-term population change
3. Population
4. Technological change
5. Institutions, organizations and cultural values
6. The increasing separation of production and consumption
7. Urbanization
8. Awareness of human impacts: changing attitudes and emphases
Part II. Transformations of the Global Environment: Long-term perspective
9. Long-term environmental change
Land
10. Land transformation
11. Forests
12. Soils
13. Sediment transfer and siltation
Water
14. Use and transformation of terrestrial water systems
15. Water quality and flows
16. The coastal zone
Oceans and Atmosphere
17. Atmospheric trace constituents
18. Marine environment
19. Climate
Biota
20. Terrestrial fauna
21. Marine biota
22. Flora
Chemicals and Radiation
23. Carbon
24. Sulphur
25. Nitrogen and phosphorus
26. Trace pollutants
27. The ionizing radiations
Part III. Regional Studies of Transformation: Long-term perspective
28. Huang-Huai-Hai plain
Tropical frontiers
29. Amazonia
30. Borneo and Malay peninsular
Highlands
31. Caucasia
32. East Africa Highlands
Plains
33. The Russian plain
34. The United States great plains
Populous South
35. The basin of Mexico
36. Nigeria
Populous North
37. Sweden
38. Hudson-Raritan Basin
39. Switzerland
Part IV. Understanding Transformations: 40. The realm of meaning
41. The realm of social relations: towards an integrative theory
42. The realm of cultural ecology: adaptation and change in historical perspective
Postscript.

Subject Areas: Conservation of the environment [RNK], Human geography [RGC]