Mediterranean Island Landscapes [electronic resource] : Natural and Cultural Approaches /
Vogiatzakis, Ioannis N.editor.
Pungetti, Gloria.editor.
Mannion, A.M.editor.
Mediterranean islands exhibit many similarities in their biotic ecological, physical and environmental characteristics. There are also many differences in terms of their human colonization and current anthropogenic pressures. This book addresses in three sections these characteristics and examines the major environmental changes that the islands experienced during the Quaternary period. The first section provides details on natural and cultural factors which have shaped island landscapes. It describes the environmental and cultural changes of the Holocene and their effects on biota, as well as on the current human pressures that are now threats to the sustainability of the island communities. The second section focuses on the landscapes of the largest islands namely Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus, Crete, Malta and the Balearics. Each island chapter includes a special topic reflecting a particular characteristic of the island. Part three presents strategies for action towards sustainability in Mediterranean islands and concludes with a comparison between the largest islands. Despite several published books on Mediterranean ecosystems/landscapes there is no existing book dealing with Mediterranean islands in a collective manner. Students, researchers and university lecturers in environmental science, geography, biology and ecology will find this work invaluable as a cross-disciplinary text while planners and politicians will welcome the succinct summaries as background material to planning decisions.
Description based upon print version of record.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Nature and Culture in Mediterranean Islands -- to the Mediterranean Island Landscapes -- The Tertiary–Quaternary Environmental History of the Mediterranean Basin: The Background to Mediterranean Island Environments -- Holocene History of Mediterranean Island Landscapes -- Island Biogeography and Landscape Ecology -- Cultural Landscapes of Mediterranean Islands -- Political Landscapes of Mediterranean Islands -- Mediterranean Island Landscapes -- Sicily -- Sardinia -- Cyprus -- Corsica -- Crete -- The Balearic Islands -- The Maltese Archipelago -- Future Perspectives -- Landscape Strategies -- Conclusions.
Mediterranean islands exhibit many similarities in their biotic ecological, physical and environmental characteristics. There are also many differences in terms of their human colonization and current anthropogenic pressures. This book addresses in three sections these characteristics and examines the major environmental changes that the islands experienced during the Quaternary period. The first section provides details on natural and cultural factors which have shaped island landscapes. It describes the environmental and cultural changes of the Holocene and their effects on biota, as well as on the current human pressures that are now threats to the sustainability of the island communities. The second section focuses on the landscapes of the largest islands namely Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Cyprus, Crete, Malta and the Balearics. Each island chapter includes a special topic reflecting a particular characteristic of the island. Part three presents strategies for action towards sustainability in Mediterranean islands and concludes with a comparison between the largest islands. Despite several published books on Mediterranean ecosystems/landscapes there is no existing book dealing with Mediterranean islands in a collective manner. Students, researchers and university lecturers in environmental science, geography, biology and ecology will find this work invaluable as a cross-disciplinary text while planners and politicians will welcome the succinct summaries as background material to planning decisions.
Landscape ecology.
Historical geology.
Ecology .
Geography.
Environment.
Cultural heritage.
Landscape Ecology.
Historical Geology.
Ecology.
Geography, general.
Environment, general.
Cultural Heritage.


Landscape Series