Coastal Lagoons: Ecosystem Processes and Modeling for Sustainable Use and Development
I. Ethem Gonenc IGEM Research & Consulting Company, Turkey
John P Wolflin US Fish and Wildlife Service, Annapolis, Maryland, USA

List Price: $129.95
Our Price: $119.95

Cat. #: L1686 ISBN: 1566706866 Publication Date: 12/16/2004 Number of Pages: 528

An effective decision-making process that will consider the hydrodynamic and ecological conditions of coastal lagoons is critical for handling development and protection of these sensitive ecosystems. In the first book of its kind, Coastal Lagoons: Ecosystem Processes and Modeling for Sustainable Use and Development describes the concepts, models, and data needed to design and implement sustainable management programs for the long-term sustainability of coastal lagoons.

Based on a project conducted under the auspices of NATO-CCMS (North Atlantic Treaty Organization - Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society), the authors show that by understanding the physical, biogeochemical, and ecological processes and the impact of human land and water uses, policies can be designed and implemented to allow for balanced and sustainable coastal lagoon management.

The authors use case studies from their own experience and step-by-step methodologies that illustrate what short- and long-term changes can be expected, based on nutrient inputs and water renewal rates. By integrating science and management, this book emphasizes the basic processes and criteria to be considered in any modeling task, thus creating a framework for adaptive management and sustainability. Conceptual illustrations and tables with equations, rates, and coefficients used in major processes are presented.

Coastal Lagoons: Ecosystem Processes and Modeling for Sustainable Use and Development is a valuable tool for managers designing a sound, ecosystem-oriented, model-based sustainable development solution to resource management.

• Describes rich and diverse ecosystems under threat from development activities
• Considers the hydrodynamic and ecological conditions of coastal lagoons that are critical for handling development and protection of these sensitive ecosystems
• Refers to the fundamentals on ecosystem modeling of lagoons, and model analysis, selection, and implementations
• Presents information gathered and methodologies formed over a 5-year study period under the auspices of NATO's Committee on the Challenges of Modern Society
• Provides conceptual illustrations and tables with equations, rates, and coefficients used in major processes
• Details the uses of various tools such as monitoring, indicators, models, impact assessment, and GIS for decision-making
• Discusses economic evaluations, cost-benefit analyses, social impact assessment tools, and the importance of public input