The purpose of this book is to document the changes in the biosphere that have taken place over the last 300 years.

Foreword; Preface; 1. The great transformation; Part I. Changes in Population and Society: 2. Long-term population change; 3. Population; 4. Technological change; 5. Institutions, organizations and cultural values; 6. The increasing separation of production and consumption; 7. Urbanization; 8. Awareness of human impacts: changing attitudes and emphases; Part II. Transformations of the Global Environment: Long-term perspective; 9. Long-term environmental change; Land; 10. Land transformation; 11. Forests; 12. Soils; 13. Sediment transfer and siltation; Water; 14. Use and transformation of terrestrial water systems; 15. Water quality and flows; 16. The coastal zone; Oceans and Atmosphere; 17. Atmospheric trace constituents; 18. Marine environment; 19. Climate; Biota; 20. Terrestrial fauna; 21. Marine biota; 22. Flora; Chemicals and Radiation; 23. Carbon; 24. Sulphur; 25. Nitrogen and phosphorus; 26. Trace pollutants; 27. The ionizing radiations; Part III. Regional Studies of Transformation: Long-term perspective; 28. Huang-Huai-Hai plain; Tropical frontiers; 29. Amazonia; 30. Borneo and Malay peninsular; Highlands; 31. Caucasia; 32. East Africa Highlands; Plains; 33. The Russian plain; 34. The United States great plains; Populous South; 35. The basin of Mexico; 36. Nigeria; Populous North; 37. Sweden; 38. Hudson-Raritan Basin; 39. Switzerland; Part IV. Understanding Transformations: 40. The realm of meaning; 41. The realm of social relations: towards an integrative theory; 42. The realm of cultural ecology: adaptation and change in historical perspective; Postscript.