Deborah Stanger Edelman & Adina Merenlender 
The California Naturalist Handbook 

The California Naturalist Handbook provides a fun, science-based introduction to California’s natural history with an emphasis on observation, discovery, communication, stewardship and conservation. It is a hands-on guide to learning about the natural environment of California. Subjects covered include California natural history and geology, native plants and animals, California’s freshwater resources and ecosystems, forest and rangeland resources, conservation biology, and the effects of global warming on California’s natural communities. The
Handbook also discusses how to create and use a field notebook, natural resource interpretation, citizen science, and collaborative conservation and serves as the primary text for the California Naturalist Program.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements

Preface


Chapter 1: Introduction to California Natural History and the World of Naturalists

California’s Biodiversity

The Biodiversity Crisis

A Brief History of Natural History and Naturalists

Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Why Be A Naturalist?

Field Notebook: An Essential Record for Every Naturalist

Field notebook

Field journal

General journaling practices

The Language of Naturalists

Linneaus’s classification system

Geographic range

Getting Out and About

Explore!


Chapter 2: Geology, Climate, and Soils

Earth’s Formation and Plate Tectonics

Shaping California

Rocks in California

California’s Climate

Diversity of California Microclimates

Soil Structure and Nutrients

Nutrient Cycling

Decomposition

Mycorrhizal Relationships

Mining in California

Explore!


Chapter 3: Water

Scaling Water: From Molecules to Our Environment

The Water Cycle

Stream Processes

Biological Inputs

Chemical Inputs

Physical Inputs

The Path of a River

Estuaries

Intertidal zone

Wetlands

California’s Lakes

California’s Freshwater Fish

Rivers Today

California Water Management and Law

Challenges for the Future: Population Growth and Climate Change

Explore!


Chapter 4: Plants

Lifestyles of Rich and Famous Plants

Parts of a Plant

Pollination

Seed Dispersal

Plant Communities of California

Plants and People

Native American Plant Uses

California’s Plant Communities and Climate Change

Explore!


Chapter 5: Forest, Woodland, Range Resources and Management

History of California Forests and Their Management

Forest Dynamics

California Forests and Wildfire

Fragmentation of Forests

Carbon Sequestration

Rangelands and Livestock Grazing Management

Conservation Biology

Explore!


Chapter 6: Animals

Evolutionary Groups

Invertebrates

Vertebrates

Fishes

Amphibians

Dinosaurs

Birds

Lizards and Snakes

Mammals

Human Activity and Domestic and Introduced Animals

Explore!


Chapter 7: Energy and Global Environmental Challenges

Forms and Sources of Energy

Forms of Energy

Sources of Energy

The Energetic Basis of Life

Energy Use by People

Global Environmental Challenges

Climate Change

Ozone Depletion

Dead Zones, Fertilizers and Manure Management

Agricultural Issues

Agriculture and Carbon Sequestration

Air Quality

Solid Waste

Population

Explore!


Chapter 8: Interpretation, Communication, and Citizen Science Interpretation: Why, what and how

The Interpretive Talk

A Naturalist Walk

Communication

Communication in the Community

Collaborative Conservation

Citizen Science

Explore!


Glossary

Über den Autor

Greg de Nevers is a botanist and naturalist with years of experience observing nature and sharing it with others through writing and teaching. Currently, he is a high school science teacher.Deborah Stanger Edelman co-founded the California Naturalist Program and has over 20 years experience developing resource conservation and education programs for organizations including the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District and the University of California Cooperative Extension. She has an M.S. in Ecology from the University of California at Davis.Adina Merenlender is a Cooperative Extension Specialist at University of California, Berkeley and is an internationally recognized conservation biologist working on environmental problem-solving at the landscape-scale. She has published over 75 scientific research articles focused on relationships between land use and biodiversity and is the Director of the UC California Naturalist program. More information at http://ucanr.org/sites/merenlender