Preface

The air, land, soils, water, plants, and animals make up the natural resources without which life on earth, as we know it, would not be possible. These resources are highly complex and dynamic with each made up of various components and reacting differently in various environments.

Knowledge of their status and changes is critical for sustainable management that takes into consideration the wellbeing of future generations. However, there are gaps in the knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of these resources and processes they are subject to. Hence the need for further studies and synthesis of findings. Climate change amplifies these challenges because of increased risks of bushfires, rises in sea levels leading to flooding of agricultural lands with salty water, dry spells, changes to the habitats of plants and wildlife, et cetera.

Sound management of natural resources should be based on the application of the principles of the basic sciences. The links with biological sciences are most evident in this book. This book aims to present reviews and research reports on classification and inventorying, impacts of environmental factors and man-made activities, and exploitation and management of key natural resources in a number of countries in various parts of the world. It contains 19 chapters in 4 sections.

Section 1 (chapters 1-2) deals with the classification of polychaetes on coral reefs and forest inventorying, which are initial steps in natural resource management. Section 2 (chapters 3-6) presents the negative impacts of environmental factors and human activities on natural resources, with examples on the hazards of wildfire, on the water quality of a special nature reserve, and on threats to coral reef ecosystems. One chapter looks at the effect of humans on the environment as a result of rapidly changing technology. Section 3 (chapters 7-13) covers a wide range of topics on the management of natural resources: soil organic carbon improvement through conservation agriculture; soil and plant beneficial fungi facilitating adaptation to climate change; mapping soil salinity as a component of soil fertility management in irrigated agriculture; management of irrigation water in commercial fruit production; sustaining the water-land-agricultural production nexus in a river basin; treatment of solid wastes by biological methods and a regional strategy to control pollution of the Mediterranean ocean. Section 4 (chapters 14-19) focuses mainly on the exploitation and/or conservation of forest, wild plant, and wildlife resources and biodiversity with some chapters dealing with protected areas including a national park.

It is hoped that lessons will be learned by scientists, practitioners, and policy makers working in the field of natural resource management, from the various experiences reported across the world, in terms of the design and implementation of studies

and development projects. We acknowledge the contributions of Dr. Mohd Nazip Suratman, Universiti Teknologi, MARA, Malaysia, and Dr. Sumit Chakravarty and Dr. Gopal Shukla both of North Bengal Agricultural University, India in the review of selected chapters. We also thank the staff of IntechOpen for copyediting and proofreading all the chapters.

#### **Emeritus Edward R. Rhodes**

Professor, Department of Soil Science, Njala University, Freetown, Sierra Leone

#### **Dr. Humood A. Nasser**

**1**

Section 1

Classification and

Inventory of Natural

Resources

Associate Professor of Environmental Biology, Department of Biology, University of Bahrain, Zallaq, Bahrain Section 1
