Fluvial Systems in the Anthropocene by Islam, Aznarul; Das, Prakriti; Ghosh, Sandipan;

Hosszú leírás:

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This book addresses the various factors affecting fluvial systems, the processes governing them, system responses arising from human-nature interventions, and geospatial and geo-ecological modeling to understand system behaviour better and restore degraded ecosystems around the globe. Thanks to their hydrological and agro-ecological advantages, humans have settled along riverbanks since the dawn of civilization. Thus, the ancient ""ecumene"" (settlements) were located near major rivers worldwide. This legacy of river-based civilizations continues to this day in many forms. However, in the course of the 'Anthropocene' era, countless fluvial systems have been altered by human interventions in the form of large-scale dams and barrages, changes in land use and land cover, road-stream crossings, mining of sand and gravel, mushrooming of brickfield, expansion of modern agriculture, industrial growth, and urbanization. Thus, the present-day development pattern threatens fluvial systems,especially riverine morphology and ecosystems. In brief, human-induced morphological changes, water pollution, eutrophication, and related damages to aquatic organisms are the major threats to fluvial systems. Thus, maintaining the 'environmental flow' of the world's major rivers to preserve the proper functioning of riverine ecosystems and promote sustainable development is a global challenge.

Tartalomjegyzék:

1. Discoursing River from Physical and Social Backdrops.- 2. Rivers in Distress : A Geo-Ecological consideration.- 3. Incorporating hydromorphological assessments in the fluvial geomorphology domain for transitioning towards Restorative River Science – Context, Concepts and Criteria.- 4. The Role of Rivers on Man and Society reflected in Literature: A critical study of a few selected River-oriented popular Bengali Novels in Geographical Perspective.- 5. An assessment of human impact on Bhagirathi river in Murshidabad district : From reverence to responsibility.