Ecosystems of the World

A major series, intended to cover systematically all of the world's ecosystems, both natural and managed, with extensive detailing of flora and fauna, system processes, human impacts, and the conservation issues involved. The last volume (Coniferous Forests) has now been published (2005) and this series presents the most complete record of ecosystems available.

From the publisher's announcement:

The purpose of this distinguished book series is to describe the structure and functioning of all major types of ecosystem, whether aquatic or terrestrial, natural or subject to human influence - in some cases virtually man-made (like greenhouses, fishponds, or intensive animal production).

The subjects covered by Ecosystems Of The World are divided by ecosystem types or biomes, so that each volume covers that type on a world-wide basis. For each volume, one or more specialists in the field have been appointed as editors, and they in turn have assembled specialist writers from all around the world to contribute chapters. The result is a series of volumes that will serve as a basic source of ecological knowledge and reference for many years. Each volume contains high quality subject, species and author indexes for ease of reference.