Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity and Environmental Change in a Tropical Mountain Ecosystem of South Ecuador

The Study Area.- Environmental Changes Affecting the Andes of Ecuador.- The Challenges of Sustainable Development in the Podocarpus-El Cóndor Biosphere Reserve.- The Concept of Ecosystem Services and its Application in the Research Unit RU 816.- Landscape History, Vegetation History and Past Human Impacts.- Past Dynamics of Speciation in Andean.- Mountain Rainforests.- Diversity in Soil Fungi and Invertebrates.- Plant Diversity and its Relevance for the Provision of Ecosystem Services.- Supporting, Regulating and Provisioning Hydrological Services.- The Carbon Balance of Tropical Mountain Forests Along an Altitudinal Transect.- Current Regulating and Supporting Services: Nutrient Cycles.- Natural Landslides which Impact Current Regulating Services: Environmental Preconditions and Modelling.- Conservation, Management of Natural Forests and Reforestation of Pastures to Retain and Restore Current Provisioning Services.- Mycorrhiza Networks Promote Biodiversity and Stabilize the Tropical Mountain Rain Forest Ecosystem - Perspectives for Understanding Complex Communities.- Current Provisioning Services: Pasture Development and Use, Weeds (Bracken) and Management.- Current Provisioning Ecosystem Services for the Local Population: Landscape Transformation, Land Use, and Plant Use.- Sustainable Agriculture and Conservation Payments are Key Factors in Mitigating Tropical Forest Loss.- Climate Change Effects on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning.- Global Climate Change Impacts on Local Climate and Hydrology.- Impacts of Local Land-Use Change on Climate and Hydrology.- Current and Future Variations of Nutrient Depositions and Influences on Tree Growth.- Nutrient Additions Affecting Matter Turnover in Forest and Pasture Ecosystems.- Effects of Nutrient Addition on the Productivity of Montane Forests and Implications for the Carbon Cycle.- Climate Change and its Impact on Current and Future Vegetation Dynamics and Carbon Cycling.- Sustainable Use of TropicalForests: A Plea

Erwin Beck is Emeritus Professor of Plant Physiology. He got his doctoral degree in Plant Systematics from the University of Munich. From1975 until 2007 he was Full Professor of Plant Physiology at the University of Bayreuth. He has authored more than 200 scientific publications and edited several books. He was President of the German Biologists Association, and of the German Botanical Society, and Treasurer of the International Union of Biological Sciences. Since 2008 he chairs the Commission of Biodiversity Research of the German Research Foundation. He received several awards and is Honorary Professor of the Technical University of Loja (Ecuador).

From the book reviews:"This book is rooted in interdisciplinary ecosystem research. It provides a plethora of information on the structure and functioning of ecosystems, based on comparative field surveys and ecological experiments in pasture and forest environments. ... The volume reflects the editors' and authors' commitment to sharing their unique experience with a broader audience. It is a fine book, an extraordinary, well-written, and well-produced synthesis of interdisciplinary work-and it educates." (Sandra Luque, Mountain Research and Development (MRD), Vol. 34 (3), August, 2014)