The Highlands : critical resources, treasured landscapes / edited by Richard G. Lathrop Jr.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Lathrop, Richard G. (Richard Gilbert)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Natural history--New York (State)--Hudson Highlands.

Natural history.

Natural history--New Jersey--New Jersey Highlands.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (381 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, N.J. : Lathrop Jr. Rutgers University Press, c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Think of the Highlands as the “backyard” and “backstop” of the Philadelphia–New York–Hartford metroplex. A backyard that spans over three million acres across Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut, the Highlands serves as recreational open space for the metroplex’s burgeoning human population. As backstop, Highlands’ watersheds provide a ready source of high-quality drinking water for over fifteen million people. The Highlands is the first book to examine the natural and cultural landscape of this four-state region, showing how it’s distinctive and why its conservation is vital. Each chapter is written by a different leading researcher and specialist in that field, and introduces readers to another aspect of the Highlands: its geological foundations, its aquifers and watersheds, its forest ecology, its past iron industry. In the 1800's, the Highlands were mined, cutover, and then largely abandoned. Given time, the forests regenerated, the land healed, and the waters cleared. Increasingly, however, the Highlands are under assault again—polluted runoff contaminating lakes and streams, invasive species choking out the local flora and fauna, exurban sprawl blighting the rural landscape, and climate change threatening the integrity of its ecosystems. The Highlands makes a compelling case for land use planning and resource management strategies that could help ensure a sustainable future for the region, strategies that could in turn be applied to other landscapes threatened by urbanization across the country. The Highlands are a valuable resource. And now, so is The Highlands.

Contents:

Introduction / Richard G. Lathrop Jr

Bedrock geology of the highlands / Alexander E. Gates and David W. Valentino

Glaciation and landscape history / Scott D. Stanford

Major soils of the Highlands / John C.F. Tedrow and Richard K. Shaw

Groundwater and surface water hydrology / Otto S. Zapecza, Donald E. Rice, and Vincent T. dePaul

Water resources supply / Daniel J. Van Abs

Forest history of the Highlands / Emily W.B. Southgate

Forest ecology / William S. F. Schuster

Wetlands of the highlands region / Joan G. Ehrenfeld

An overview of the vascular plants of the highlands and the threats to plant biodiversity. Appendix 9.1: List of twenty-one globally rare, threatened, and endangered plant species reported from Connecticut, New jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, Appendix 9.2: List of fifty-eight invasive or potentially invasive species known from the Highlands region / Gerry Moore and Steven Glenn

Wildlife of the highlands / Elizabeth A. Johnson

Ironworking in the highlands / Theodore W. Kury and Peter O. Wacker

Agriculture and urban development patterns in the Highlands / Richard G. Lathrop Jr

Open space and recreation in the Highlands / Daniel Chazin

Land use planning and policy in the Highlands / Rob Pirani, Thomas A. Gilbert, and Corey Piasecki

Future vision for the Highlands / Richard G. Lathrop Jr., Mary Tyrell, and Myrna Hall.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-86434-7

0-8135-5208-7

OCLC:

778339828