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| Introduction | |
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| Development of Concepts in Ecosystem Science | |
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| Why Study Ecosystems? | |
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| Development of Ecosystem Concepts | |
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| Delimiting the Ecosystem | |
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| Components of Terrestrial Ecosystems | |
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| Structure of Terrestrial Ecosystems | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Distribution and Characteristics of Major Ecosystem Types | |
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| Vegetation Type, Plant Structure, and Major Processes | |
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| Soil Processes and Distribution of Soil Types | |
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| Major Vegetation and Soil Types of the Earth | |
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| Correlations Between Climate and Ecosystem Function | |
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| Variation Within Large Climatic Regions | |
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| Measurement of Ecosystem Function I: The Carbon Balance | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Carbon Balance of Terrestrial Ecosystems | |
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| Measurement of Ecosystem Function II: Nutrient and Water Balances | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Nutrient and Water Balances | |
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| Methods in Watershed-Ecosystem Studies | |
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| Some Results from Watershed-Ecosystem Studies | |
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| Studies on Responses to Disturbance | |
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| Additional Approaches to Analysis and Synthesis in Ecosystem Studies | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Analytical Methods | |
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| Gradients in Ecosystem Processes over Space and Time | |
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| Systems Analysis and Ecosystem Studies | |
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| Computer Modeling: A Synthesis Tool for Ecosystem Studies | |
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| Mechanisms: Processes Controlling Ecosystem Structure and Function | |
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| Energy, Water, and Carbon Balances over Leaves | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Energy, Carbon, and Water Balance of a Leaf | |
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| Chemical and Latent Energy Exchanges | |
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| Net Radiation | |
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| Sensible Heat Exchange: Conduction and Convection | |
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| Structural and Physiological Adaptations | |
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| Leaf Structure and Function in Major Ecosystem Types | |
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| Water Use and Water Balances in Ecosystems | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Hydrologic Cycle of Ecosystems | |
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| The Concept of Water Potential in Soils, Plants, and the Atmosphere | |
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| Integrating Water Stress over Time: An Isotope-Based Method | |
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| Structure and Dynamics of Canopy Systems | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Canopy Environment | |
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| Structured Canopies, Succession, and Light-Use Efficiency | |
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| Phenology: Seasonal Variation in Canopy Structure and Function | |
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| Models of Canopy Carbon Exchange | |
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| Soil Development and the Soil Environment | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Major Elements | |
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| The Soil Environment | |
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| Soil Chemical Processes Affecting Nutrient Availability | |
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| Biological Processes in Soils | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Measures of Nutrient Availability | |
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| Measures Based on Rate of Mineralization from Organic Matter | |
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| Nutrient Uptake and the Biological Modification of Nutrient Availability | |
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| Resource Allocation and Net Primary Production | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Resource Limitations on Production: A Simplified View | |
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| Resource Pools in Plants and Their Allocation | |
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| An Ecological Enigma: Why Do Trees Stop Growing? | |
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| Chemical Properties of Litter and Soil Organic Matter: The Decomposition Continuum | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Organic Matter as a Resource for Microbial Growth | |
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| Biochemical Constituents of Litter and Their Rates of Decay | |
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| What Is Humus? | |
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| Formation of Humus | |
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| Decomposition and Stabilization of Humus | |
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| Three Examples of New Approaches to "Seeing" the Structure and Dynamics of Soil Organic Matter | |
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| Decay Rates and Nutrient Dynamics of Litter and Soil Organic Matter | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Litter Decomposition Rates | |
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| Decomposition and Nutrient Release from Humus | |
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| The Important Role of Soil Organic Matter | |
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| Plant-Soil Interactions: Summary Effects on Nutrient Cycles | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Comparisons of Generalized Nutrient Cycles | |
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| Changes in Solution Chemistry in Ecosystems | |
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| Species Effects on Nutrient Distribution and Cycling | |
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| Factors Limiting Consumption: Plant-Herbivore Interactions | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Consumption as a Fraction of Net Primary Productivity | |
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| Structural and Chemical Inhibition of Herbivory | |
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| Patterns of Herbivore Inhibitor Production in Plants | |
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| Implications | |
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| Characteristics of Ecosystems with High Herbivore Consumption Rates | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Ungulates and Grasses: Coevolution? | |
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| Plants, Herbivores, Carnivores, and Cyclic Patterns of Consumption in Nongrassland Systems | |
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| The Stabilizing Effects of Territoriality and Predation: Moose and Wolves on Isle Royale | |
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| Effects of Vegetative Change and Climate on Irruptions of Insect Populations | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| The Role of Fire in Carbon and Nutrient Balances | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Major Categories of Fire Types | |
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| Fire Frequency and Intensity in Different Types of Ecosystems | |
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| Effects on Soils and Plants | |
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| Plant Adaptations to Different Fire Regimes | |
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| Fire-Herbivory Interactions | |
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| Fire and the Management of Ecosystems | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Synthesis: A Generalized Theory of Ecosystem Dynamics | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Successional Theories of Ecosystem Development | |
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| Physiological Theories of Ecosystem Development | |
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| Comparing Successional and Physiological Theories | |
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| Synthesis: Dynamics of Selected Ecosystems | |
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| A Fire-Dominated Ecosystem: The Taiga Forests of Interior Alaska | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Taiga Forests of Interior Alaska | |
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| Fire and Succession in Taiga Forests | |
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| Experimental Modification of Taiga Ecosystems | |
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| Summary of Interactions and Relation to General Theory | |
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| Implications for Human Use of the Taiga | |
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| Boreal Forests and Global Change | |
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| The Serengeti: An Herbivore-Dominated Ecosystem | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Environment of the Serengeti Region | |
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| Resource Partitioning and Use by Herbivores | |
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| Resource Partitioning Among Predators | |
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| Vegetation-Herbivore-Predator Interactions | |
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| Predation Versus Food as Limiting Factors in Herbivore Populations | |
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| Perturbations, Succession, and the Dynamics of the Serengeti System | |
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| Human Use and Conservation Concerns in the Serengeti | |
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| A Gap-Regeneration System: The Northern Hardwood Forests of the United States | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Northern Hardwood Ecosystems of New England | |
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| Patterns of Disturbance in Northern Hardwoods and Effects on Resource Availability | |
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| Species Adaptations to the Disturbance Gradient: Reproductive and Life History Strategies | |
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| Integration of Plant and Biogeochemical Responses to Disturbance | |
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| Alternate Endpoints for Succession: Species-Site Interactions | |
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| Human Use and History of the Northern Hardwoods Region | |
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| Ecosystem Development over Geologic Time: The Tropical Forests of Hawaii | |
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| Introduction | |
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| The Hawaiian Islands | |
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| Soil Development, Soil Chemistry, and Nutrient Availability | |
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| Feedbacks Between Plant Limitations and Nutrient Cycling | |
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| Long-Range Nutrient Transport and the Long-Term Maintenance of Productivity | |
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| Human Influences and Changes in Ecosystem Function | |
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| Application: Human Impacts on Local, Regional, and Global Ecosystems | |
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| Ecosystems Managed for Food and Fiber | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Malthus and the Race Between Population Growth and Increased Agricultural Production | |
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| A Gradient in the Intensity of Management of Arable Land | |
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| Management of Native Forests for Timber and Fiber | |
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| Plantation Forestry | |
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| Conserving Forest Resources | |
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| Low-Input/Low-Yield Agriculture: Traditional Practices in the Humid Tropics | |
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| Agroforestry: Increasing Yields by Intercropping and Managing the Fallow Forest | |
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| Permanent High-Yield Agriculture: An Extreme Example | |
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| Methods for Improving Sustainability | |
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| Historical Methods of Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics | |
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| Characteristics of Sustainable Agroecosystems | |
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| Relation to Conservation of Native Ecosystems | |
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| Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Defining Biodiversity | |
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| Biodiversity at the Global Scale: Evolution and Extinction | |
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| Patterns of Biodiversity in Terrestrial Ecosystems | |
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| Human Effects on Biodiversity and Consequences for Ecosystems | |
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| Invasive Species and Introductions | |
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| Environmental Change and Biodiversity | |
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| Effects of Air Pollution on Terrestrial Ecosystems | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Air Pollution Sources | |
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| Distribution of Air Pollutants | |
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| Effects of Air Pollutants on Terrestrial Ecosystems | |
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| Effects of Individual Air Pollutants | |
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| Forest Decline: The Interactive Effects of Pollutants | |
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| Determining "Critical Loads" of Pollution | |
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| Environmental Success Stories: Pollution Reductions in the United States and Europe | |
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| The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate Change | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and Climate | |
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| Physiological Effects of Carbon Dioxide and Climate | |
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| Historical Changes in Land Use and Carbon Storage | |
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| A Comparison of Methods for Estimating Carbon Balances: The United States as a Case Study | |
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| Predicting Net Primary Production and Carbon Balances in the Future | |
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| Epilog | |
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| Index | |