Contents Notes |
v. 1. Remote sensing, modeling and inventory development, and biomass burning in Africa -- v. 2. Biomass burning in South America, Southeast Asia, and temperate and boreal ecosystems, and the oil fires of Kuwait. "The burning of biomass - forests, grasslands, and agricultural fields after the harvest - is much more widespread and extensive than previously believed; most biomass burning is thought to be initiated by humans and is on the increase. This comprehensive volume is the first to consider biomass burning as a global phenomenon and to assess its impact on the atmosphere, on climate, and on the biosphere itself. The 63 chapters by 158 scientists - including leading biomass burn researchers from third-world countries, such as Brazil, Nigeria, Zaire, India, and China, where biomass burning is so prevalent - point to biomass burning as a significant driver of global change on our planet. Global Biomass Burning provides a convenient and current reference on such topics as the remote sensing of biomass burning from space, the geographical distribution of burning; the combustion products of burning in tropical, temperate, and boreal ecosystems; burning as a global source of atmospheric gases and particulates; the impact of biomass burning gases and particulates on global climate; and the role of biomass burning on biodiversity and past global extinctions."--pub. desc. |