"Presentations and illustrations are of very good quality. The book is easy to read and the information sends some shivers down one's spine like a good thriller does...The kind of report brings a lot of information useful to all who are dealing with functioning and conservation of ecosystems, with education while supplying with updated and accurate data sets, without speaking of economists and politologs. But one could wish this book could be read by everyone".
Ann. Limnol. 37 (3) 2001 (James Gagneur, Centre d'Ecologie des Systemes Aquatiques Continentaux, Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France

"I really like the book...I intend to make heavy use of it for my Environmental Studies course"
Dr Mark Schwartz, Department of Environmental Sciences and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA

"This is an excellent book for students in environmental sciences with emphasis on agriculture or natural resources. Most importantly it provides the critical global perspective...Extremely valuable resource for understanding sustainability of our resources"
Professor Sagar Krupa, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Minnesota

"The information is nicely packaged - good summary tables and diagrams and the text is easy to read...A comprehensive and usable reference for the nature and function of the world's ecosystems"
Professor William J. Manning, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

"It is a joy to find a book with so many useful applications...a vast amount of useful data are given. The presentation and structure of the book is such that the reader can either spend time absorbing information in detail, or skipping through sections quickly, and not lose touch with the primary focus of the book...The book is an excellent text on approaches for studying global ecosystems, and the use of a systematic survey approach as the basis for such a study...The scope of this book is enormous...This book is a most valuable resource for a wide audience..."
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol 86, Issue 1, pp 1-112 (July 2001)

"This 'millennial edition'...offers a snapshot of the current condition of world ecosystems, the pressures they face and ways forward in protecting the little we have left...a cornucopia of detailed information on the state of the world's major ecosystems".
Bulletin of the British Ecological Society, August 2001