The emerging multidisciplinary field of earth system science sets out to improve our understanding functioning ecosystems, at a global level across the entire planet. Stable Isotopes and Biosphere - Atmosphere Interactions looks to one of its most powerful tools - the application of stable isotope analyses - to understanding biosphere-atmosphere exchange of the greenhouse gases, and synthesizes much of the recent progress in this work.
Stable Isotopes and Biosphere - Atmosphere Interactions describes recent progress in understanding the mechanisms, processes and applications of new techniques. It makes a significant contribution to the emerging, multidisciplinary study of the Earth as an interacting system. This book will be an important reference for students and researchers in biology, ecology, biogeochemistry, meteorology, and atmospheric science and will be invaluable for anyone with any interest in the future of the planet.
* Describes applications of new stable isotope techniques to the emerging fields of earth system science and global change
* Illustrates advances in scaling of physiological processes from leaf/soil to the global scale
* Contains state-of-the-art, critical reviews written by international researchers and experts
Industry Reviews
"...quite suitable for reference and background information for individuals with advanced training and an interest in this topic...this text has excelled in uniformity of style and length. It is well edited, and the quality of illustrations is quite good...it would be a useful addition to most libraries and to most laboratories working with stable isotopes in the environment." -Mark Coyne, Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Kentucky, for JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY "...the strength of this compiled volume comes from the varied topics covered, from plant physiology to global atmosphere budgets via a detailed examination of Keeling plots and their robustness...Stable Isotopes contains much up-to-date information about how the study of the stable isotopic content of atmospheric CO2, and N2O and CH4 has advances our current understanding of the biosphere-atmosphere gas exchanges and, thus, the global cycling of carbon and nitrogen...As such, Stable Isotopes will be useful to scientists, including graduate students, who wish to broaden their research to make use of stable isotopes, or those who already have expertise with a particular stable isotope but are unfamiliar with others." - Trends in Ecology and Evolution (2005) "Flannagan et al. have successfully coalesced and integrated a large and multi-disciplinary group focused on a core set of problems related to measurement, interpretation, and modeling of the isotopic variation in trace gases at the ecosystem-atmosphere interface...a valuable reference for those interested in the powerful application of stable isotopes to these problems as well as a guidepost for future efforts...The illustrations and figures are professionally produced and displayed. Each chapter presents an effective balance of background information with recent or new data. The body of work represents another important milestone in the evolution of the isotope technique to the ever-expanding field of ecological science." - David G. Williams, University of Wyoming, for ECOLOGY