This abundantly illustrated book provides a fundamental introduction to the ecological zones of the geosphere. The revised edition includes more than 70 new figures and tables, plus detailed maps of agricultural regions and soil classification. A large number of new Anglo-American ecological studies are included, along with a discussion of the correlation between northern ecosystems and the carbon dioxide balance in the global atmosphere.

General: the treatment of the ecozones and global overviews of selected characteristics.- Distribution.- Climate.- Relief and drainage.- Soils.- Vegetation and animals.- Land use.- Regional section: The individual ecozones.- Polar subpolar zone.- Boreal zone.- Temperate midlatitudes.- Dry midlatitudes.- Subtropics with winter rain.- Subtropics with year-round rain.- Dry tropics and subtropics.- Tropics with summer rain.- Tropics with year-round rain.