Disconnected rivers : linking rivers to landscapes / Ellen Wohl.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wohl, Ellen E., 1962-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Stream ecology--United States.

Stream ecology.

Watershed management--United States.

Watershed management.

Stream conservation--United States.

Stream conservation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (1 online resource (xiii, 301 p.) ) ill., maps.

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Rivers

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This important and accessible book surveys the history and present condition of river systems across the United States, showing how human activities have impoverished our rivers and impaired the connections between river worlds and other ecosystems.Ellen Wohl begins by introducing the basic physical, chemical, and biological processes operating in rivers. She then addresses changes in rivers resulting from settlement and expansion, describes the growth of federal involvement in managing rivers, and examines the recent efforts to rehabilitate and conserve river ecosystems. In each chapter she focuses on a specific regional case study and describes what happens to a particular river organism-a bird, North America's largest salamander, the paddlefish, and the American alligator-when people interfere with natural processes.

Contents:

Why should we care about rivers?

American rivers

Conquering a new world : pioneer impacts

Poisoning America : commercial impacts

Institutional conquest : bureaucratic impacts

Trying to do the right thing : rehabilitation impacts

Thinking in terms of rivers.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [273]-297) and index.

ISBN:

9786611740900

9781281740908

128174090X

9780300127461

0300127464

OCLC:

1024051223