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April 28, 2003 Volume 27, Issue 33 |
Dr. Evan Peacock, assistant professor of anthropology, is senior editor on a new book published by the University of Alabama Press.
"Blackland Prairies of the Gulf Coastal Plain: Nature, Culture, and Sustainability," is co-edited by Timothy Schauwecker, who received a doctorate in biological sciences from MSU in 2001. The 348-page volume was published in February.
Other current or former MSU faculty and students represented in the book include Richard Brown of the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology; Homes Hogue, Janet Rafferty and Rebecca Melsheimer, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work; Darrel Schmitz and Charles Wax, Department of Geosciences; Mary Celeste Reese, John MacDonald and Richard Switzer, Department of Biological Sciences; and David Pettry, Louis Moran and Victor Maddox, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. Joe MacGown of Entomology produced the cover art.
The book takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and conserving the fragile blackland prairie ecosystems of the lower South. Several sections focus on the black prairie of North Mississippi.
Topics include prehistoric and historic settlement patterns, reconstructing ancient environments, hydrology, soils, insects, plant life, and the use of fire as a management tool. Scientists and land managers from several states and agencies contributed to the volume.