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Exchange of trace gases between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere
BOOK REVIEWS
253
Environment in Key Words, by I. Paenson, Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK, 1990, two-volume set of approx. 972 pp. Price: $270.00. This manual is the second edition, considerably enlarged and updated, of the Multilingual Systematic Glossary of Environmental Terms prepared by Dr Paenson for the U.N. Conference on the H u m a n Environment (Stockholm, 1972) published as a U.N. document (UNCHE/72/misc. 1). The first volume presents the key words in a context which, in many cases, is at the same time a definition of the term. Logically articulated, and decimally classified sections and subsections, each of them from one-half to two pages, contain approximately 4000 words and combinations of words in English, French, German and Russian. The second volume is the quadrilingual alphabetical index of all key words. As one fluent in three of the four languages, and having published tens of papers in three tongues (Russian is the exception) on almost any imaginable aspect of environmental research including its economic side, I could locate merely three or four terms which I would have perhaps translated slightly differently. But these are mere niceties of shade or particularities of opinion, in no way amounting to errors. It is difficult to imagine a library, or a professional translator, without this fundamental work. For lexicographers and terminologists it is a must. Fourfifths of the key words listed cannot be found even in major dictionaries. I would also recommend it to many an ecologist, environmentalist, earth scientist, air- water- and soil-pollution specialist who nowadays commutes between the United Nations, European C o m m u n i t y and other international organizations' meetings, to own this set of two volumes (it is not suggested that you carry it around: net weight about 3 kg).
BrOtigny-sur-Orge (France)
Michel Benarie
Exchange of Trace Gases Between Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Atmosphere, edited by M.O. Andreae and D.S. Schimel, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 1989, 346 pp. Price: £50.00. This volume presents the report of the Dahlem Workshop held in Berlin, FRG, 19-24 February 1989. The composition of the atmosphere is predominantly a product of the activity of the biosphere. Molecular oxygen is a 'side product' of plant photosynthesis, and nitrogen is released by soil microbes during denitrification. Without continuous regeneration of molecular oxygen and nitrogen by biota, the atmosphere would proceed towards thermodynamic equilibrium, represented by carbon dioxide and nitrate.
254
BOOKrewews
Trace gas exchange between biosphere and atmosphere has a profound influence on the composition of the Earth's atmosphere and consequently on global climate. The fluxes and concentrations of some climatically important gases (e.g. methane and nitrous oxide) are now increasing, apparently due to human influence. This makes understanding the processes which regulate their biological sources and sinks particularly important at this time. This book explores the relationship between soil microbes, the plant canopy, and the physical and chemical dynamics in the atmospheric boundary layer, which together control the direction and rate of trace gas exchange. The microbial production and consumption of methane and nitrogen oxides in soils, the micrometeorology of trace gas exchange from soils to the canopy to the overlying atmosphere, and the problems of measurement and extrapolation are critically discussed in a series of review chapters and group discussion reports. Four discussion groups attempted to provide answers to the following questions: What are the relative roles of biological and environmental variables in regulating production and consumption of trace gases in ecosystems? How should we extrapolate flux measurements to regional and global scales? are the processes controlling the fluxes of trace gases between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, and how do we best measure these fluxes? How does trace gas exchange interact with the chemical and physical climate: Is there 'geophysical regulation'? The workshop placed trace gas exchange in a global framework in a section dealing with atmospheric nutrient transport, chemical processes in the atmosphere, and the changing global climate. The book concludes with a chapter which intends to provide a framework for future international research programmes on biosphere/atmosphere exchange. -
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BrOtigny-sur-Org¢ (France)
Michel Benarie
The Long-range Atmospheric Transport of Natural and Contaminant Substances, edited by A.H. Knap, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands (NATO ASI Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 297), 321 pp. Price: Dfl. 180.00, US$ 94.00. This volume contains the output of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held at St. Georges, Bermuda, January 10-17, 1988, with the participation of 39 experts in the field of long-range transport and meteorology.
253
Environment in Key Words, by I. Paenson, Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK, 1990, two-volume set of approx. 972 pp. Price: $270.00. This manual is the second edition, considerably enlarged and updated, of the Multilingual Systematic Glossary of Environmental Terms prepared by Dr Paenson for the U.N. Conference on the H u m a n Environment (Stockholm, 1972) published as a U.N. document (UNCHE/72/misc. 1). The first volume presents the key words in a context which, in many cases, is at the same time a definition of the term. Logically articulated, and decimally classified sections and subsections, each of them from one-half to two pages, contain approximately 4000 words and combinations of words in English, French, German and Russian. The second volume is the quadrilingual alphabetical index of all key words. As one fluent in three of the four languages, and having published tens of papers in three tongues (Russian is the exception) on almost any imaginable aspect of environmental research including its economic side, I could locate merely three or four terms which I would have perhaps translated slightly differently. But these are mere niceties of shade or particularities of opinion, in no way amounting to errors. It is difficult to imagine a library, or a professional translator, without this fundamental work. For lexicographers and terminologists it is a must. Fourfifths of the key words listed cannot be found even in major dictionaries. I would also recommend it to many an ecologist, environmentalist, earth scientist, air- water- and soil-pollution specialist who nowadays commutes between the United Nations, European C o m m u n i t y and other international organizations' meetings, to own this set of two volumes (it is not suggested that you carry it around: net weight about 3 kg).
BrOtigny-sur-Orge (France)
Michel Benarie
Exchange of Trace Gases Between Terrestrial Ecosystems and the Atmosphere, edited by M.O. Andreae and D.S. Schimel, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, UK, 1989, 346 pp. Price: £50.00. This volume presents the report of the Dahlem Workshop held in Berlin, FRG, 19-24 February 1989. The composition of the atmosphere is predominantly a product of the activity of the biosphere. Molecular oxygen is a 'side product' of plant photosynthesis, and nitrogen is released by soil microbes during denitrification. Without continuous regeneration of molecular oxygen and nitrogen by biota, the atmosphere would proceed towards thermodynamic equilibrium, represented by carbon dioxide and nitrate.
254
BOOKrewews
Trace gas exchange between biosphere and atmosphere has a profound influence on the composition of the Earth's atmosphere and consequently on global climate. The fluxes and concentrations of some climatically important gases (e.g. methane and nitrous oxide) are now increasing, apparently due to human influence. This makes understanding the processes which regulate their biological sources and sinks particularly important at this time. This book explores the relationship between soil microbes, the plant canopy, and the physical and chemical dynamics in the atmospheric boundary layer, which together control the direction and rate of trace gas exchange. The microbial production and consumption of methane and nitrogen oxides in soils, the micrometeorology of trace gas exchange from soils to the canopy to the overlying atmosphere, and the problems of measurement and extrapolation are critically discussed in a series of review chapters and group discussion reports. Four discussion groups attempted to provide answers to the following questions: What are the relative roles of biological and environmental variables in regulating production and consumption of trace gases in ecosystems? How should we extrapolate flux measurements to regional and global scales? are the processes controlling the fluxes of trace gases between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere, and how do we best measure these fluxes? How does trace gas exchange interact with the chemical and physical climate: Is there 'geophysical regulation'? The workshop placed trace gas exchange in a global framework in a section dealing with atmospheric nutrient transport, chemical processes in the atmosphere, and the changing global climate. The book concludes with a chapter which intends to provide a framework for future international research programmes on biosphere/atmosphere exchange. -
-
-
W
h
a
t
-
BrOtigny-sur-Org¢ (France)
Michel Benarie
The Long-range Atmospheric Transport of Natural and Contaminant Substances, edited by A.H. Knap, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands (NATO ASI Series C: Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 297), 321 pp. Price: Dfl. 180.00, US$ 94.00. This volume contains the output of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held at St. Georges, Bermuda, January 10-17, 1988, with the participation of 39 experts in the field of long-range transport and meteorology.