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An interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistoric hunting to modern energy production.
The biosphere — the Earth's thin layer of life — dates from nearly four billion years ago, when the first simple organisms appeared. Many species have exerted enormous influence on the biosphere's character and productivity, but none has transformed the Earth in so many ways and on such a scale as Homo sapiens. In Harvesting the Biosphere, Vaclav Smil offers an interdisciplinary and quantitative account of human claims on the biosphere's stores of living matter, from prehistory to the present day. Smil examines all harvests — from prehistoric man's hunting of megafauna to modern crop production — and all uses of harvested biomass, including energy, food, and raw materials. Without harvesting of the biomass, Smil points out, there would be no story of human evolution and advancing civilization but at the same time, the increasing extent and intensity of present-day biomass harvests are changing the very foundations of civilization's well-being.
In his detailed and comprehensive account, Smil presents the best possible quantifications of past and current global losses in order to assess the evolution and extent of biomass harvests. Drawing on the latest work in disciplines ranging from anthropology to environmental science, Smil offers a valuable long-term, planet-wide perspective on human-caused environmental change.
Preface
I The Earth’s Biomass: Stores, Productivity, Harvests
Biomass: Definitions and Compositions
Biomass Stores: Means and Extremes
Biomass Productivities
Phytomass Harvests
Zoomass Harvests
Land Cover and Productivity Changes
History of the Harvests: From Foraging to Globalization
The Evolution of Foraging
Crops and Animals
Biomass Fuels and Raw Materials
Adding Up the Claims: Harvests, Losses, and Trends
Changing Land Cover and Land Use
Harvesting the Biosphere
Long-Term Trends and Possible Worlds
Scientific Units and Prefixes
References