Recommendation: New Titles

Recent titles added to our collection:

Amphibian Decline: An Integrated Analysis of Multiple Stressor Effects by Greg Linder, Sherry K. Krest, Donald W. Sparling/ QL 669.8.A46 2003

It is now widely accepted that some amphibian populations are declining around the globe, but in many cases the causes of these declines remains unknown. In an effort to analyze the amphibian population decline, scientists, researchers, and resource management professionals from diverse fields participated in a Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) - Johnson Foundation Wingspread conference. A result of the Wingspread conference, Amphibian Decline, examines the ecotoxicology and stressors of amphibians in an attempt to address issues related to declining amphibian populations and the role that various stressors might have to those losses. It identifies gaps in critical data, interprets information into an existing framework, and points toward critical areas for future research. Through the combined efforts of research and resource managment communities, recommendations can be developed to change current policies and management actions to address the problem of amphibian decline.

City Bountiful: A Century of Community Gardening in America by Laura J. Lawson/ SB457.3.L39 2005

Since the 1890s, providing places for people to garden has been an inventive strategy to improve American urban conditions. There have been vacant-lot gardens, school gardens, Depression-era relief gardens, victory gardens, and community gardens - each representing a consistent impulse to return to gardening during times of social and economic change. Rarely considered as simply places to grow food and flowers, the gardens and their associated programs intend benefits far beyond gardening. Yet as appealing as they are, garden programs have been difficult to sustain. In this critical history of community gardening in America, the most comprehensive review of the greening of urban communities to date, Laura J. Lawson documents the evolution of urban garden programs in the United States. Her narrative focuses on the values associated with gardening, the ebb and flow of campaigns during times of social and economic crisis, organizational strategies of these primarily volunteer campaigns, and the sustainability of current programs.

Invasive Plants of the Upper Midwest: An Illustrated Guide to Their Identification and Control by Elizabeth J. Czarapata/ SB 612.M54.C93 2005

Invasive plants are a growing threat to ecosystems everywhere. Often originating in distant climes, they spread to woodlands, wetlands, prairies, roadsides, and backyards that lack the biological controls which kept these plant populaitons in check in their homelands. Invasive plants crowd native plants out of existence, decrease biological diversity, degrade wildlife habitat and food sources, diminsh timber production, overtake pasture land, alter the aesthetic quality of native natural areas, hinder recreation, decrease property values, and drain billions of dollars annually from the global economy. This book is an inforamtive, colorful, comprehensive guide to invasive species that are currently endangering native habitats in the region. It is complete with more than 250 color photos that will help anyone identify problem trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, sedges and herbaceous plants (including aquatic invaders). The text offers further details of plant identification; manual, mechanical, biological, and chemical control techniques; information and advice about herbicides; and suggestions for related ecological restoration and community education efforts.

Visit Brookfield Zoo Library's online catalogue at http://swan.sls.lib.il.us