Book excerpt: The environment in ecological systems includes both physical parameters and biotic attributes, and is a holocoenotic, dynamically interlinked system. Its investigation requires a dialectical approach which examines the different parts, but integrates the organism and the environment into a dynamic whole. Environment and ecology place emphasis on the real world. Many decisions that directly or indirectly affect the balance of our environment are based on individual, community, state, national and international decisions. Given that ecological systems now also involve the economy, ecology and its relationship with the environment are taking on an increasingly important role in today’s world. This book includes 32 chapters dealing with the different aspects cited above. It discusses transhumance activities; social changes in new life environments; dendrohistorical studies; recreation and tourism based on natural resources; physical and social geographical studies on the riparian borders; threats and environmental interactions in mountain forest ecosystems; the evolution of the traditional agricultural landscapes; the landscapes of Sierra Nevada; cork oak forests and climate change; the causes of flooding; water scarcity and adaptation in agriculture; nutrient pollution in rivers; ethnobotanical studies; and phenological observations of young beech stands. The topics discussed in this book will attract the attention of students and researchers from different disciplines, and will prove fruitful for all scholars working under the umbrella of environment and ecology studies.