Pedon 23 - Physical Land Resources - Universiteit Gent

PUBLICATIONS
Peatlands of the Western
Guayana Highlands, Venezuela
(1 st edition)
by Zinck, Joseph Alfred and
Huber, Otto., 2011, XVII, 295 p.
92 illustrations (44 in color).
ISBN 978-3-642-20137-0. 99,95
€.
The Guayana Highlands in
northeastern tropical America,
rising from lowland rain forests
and savannas up to 3000 m
elevation, are characterized by
ancient tablelands called tepuis. The peatlands that
developed on the tepuis constitute unique and fascinating
ecosystems and are the focus of this volume, which starts
with an overview of tropical and subtropical peats,
followed by an introduction to the geo-ecological features
of the Guayana region as a whole, with special emphasis
on the diversity of the vegetation cover from lowlands to
uplands to highlands. The core subject centers on the
properties and dating of the peat deposits and the
interpretation of the chronological record in terms of past
environmental changes. The well illustrated book will
appeal to a broad range of scientists interested in tropical
highland peats, including quaternarists, soil scientists,
geomorphologists, geographers, geologists, ecologists,
botanists, hydrologists, conservationists and land use
planners.
Eric Van Ranst
Monitoring, Reporting and
Verification systems for Carbon
in Soils and Vegetation in
African, Caribbean and Pacific
countries
by Delphine de Brogniez, Philippe
Mayaux and Luca Montanarella.
Luxembourg: Publications Office
of the European Union, 2011.
ISBN: 978-92-79-21136-2 (print),
978-92-79-21137-9 (pdf).
Improved terrestrial carbon management offers tremendous
potential for climate change mitigation and, in many cases,
there are associated cobenefits such as increased
productivity, resilience and biodiversity. In January 2011,
the Institute for Environment and Sustainability of the Joint
Research Centre organized an inter-service meeting on
“Monitoring, Reporting and Verification systems for
carbon in soils and vegetation in African, Caribbean and
Pacific countries” with the objective of refining its longterm
research agenda in that domain. This was achieved in
the light of the needs of the Directorates-General involved
in the development and environment policies namely
DEVCO, ENV, CLIMA, ENTR, RTD and AGRI as well
as of the recent evolution of the UNFCCC negotiations.
This report encompasses the proceedings of the meeting
together with the conclusions and recommendations to JRC
work program stated by the invited experts and policymakers
from the different relevant DGs.
Eric Van Ranst
Tropicultura
Open Access ISSN 0771-3312
Tropicultura publishes original
articles, research and synthesis
notes, book and thesis summaries
as well as reviews of films and
videos relative to all aspects of
rural development including Soil
Science and Environmental
Sciences.
The review is published with the aid of the "Direction
générale de la Coopération au Développement (DGD),
Ministère des Affaires du Commerce extérieur et de la
Coopération au Développement", and the "Région
Bruxelles - Capitale" by Agri-Overseas in order to
establish common-interest professional relationships
between people working on overseas rural development.
Agri-Overseas is composed of both individual members
and members of the different Belgian Institutions.
Tropicultura is published four times per year. Volume 1
corresponds to the year 1983.
Subscription to Tropicultura is free and may be obtained
on request by writing to the following address: Agri-
Overseas, Rue d’Egmont 11, B-1000 Brussels (Belgium).
Phone: +32-2-5408860, +32-2-5408861, fax: +32-2-
5408859, e-mail: ghare.tropicultura@belgacom.net,
mjdesmet.tropicultura@belgacom.net, website: http://
www. tropicultura. org.
Eric Van Ranst
Soil Genesis and
Classification (6 th edition)
by Stanley W. Buol, R.J.
Southard, R.C. Graham, P.A.
McDaniel. Wiley-Blackwell
2011. Hardcover, 560 pages.
ISBN: 978-0-8138-0769-0. 72
€.
Soil Genesis and Classification,
Sixth Edition, builds on the
success of the previous editions
to present an unparalleled
resource on soil formation and classification. Featuring a
color plate section containing multiple soil profiles, this
text also includes information on new classification
systems and emerging technologies and databases with
updated references throughout. Covering the diverse needs
of both the academic and professional communities, this
classic text will be a must have reference for all those in
soil science and related fields.
Eric Van Ranst
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