Review: Despite the amount of interest in larger herbivores there remains limited collected information about their ecology and conservation. The aim of this text is to gather a range of material to better highlight key issues. Behind this is the notion that conservation should be based on scientific evidence. As such, this book represents the results of a conference in 2002 to consider such matters.

The book starts with a brief introduction on the nature of herbivores and their place in the ecosystem. Although the focus is on Eurasian herbivores and their conservation programmes. As if to counter this, the first chapter reviews the roles of large herbivores across a range of biomes defining 'large' as >5kg and showing how a range of factors from distribution to body size varies. Chapter two looks at the responses of herbivores to Arctic ecosystems arguing that populations have adapted to seasonal changes and that global warming might upset population dynamics. Chapter three focusses on the key relationship between herbivore and plant - foraging. By reviewing the evidence on foraging patterns it becomes clear that there is a complex relationship between food and eater which some current models do not explore well. Chapter four explores the impacts both negative (food supply) and positive (seed dispersal) of herbivores on shrub populations. Chapter five explores the relationship between herbivores in plants in arid areas. Despite low densities due to extreme conditions there is still the idea that long-term herbivory can lead to land degradation. However, as this review shows, the actual picture appears to be more complex with food preferences altering ecology and rainfall playing an important part. Chapter six discusses the role of herbivores in woodlands outlining the complex relationships between animals and plant communities and noting that balance can be altered by increased stocking rates - a clear reference to African conservation successes. Such complexity can be seen elsewhere as chapter seven looks at the relationship between herbivores and European forests with the addition here of human activity. This suggests that conservation based on 'naturalness' might need to be redefined in light of human uses of woodland. If herbivores can influence forest composition then it can also be shown to impact upon certain tree species through frugivory especially in warmer areas. Chapter 10 describes changes to nutrient cycles, especially Nitrogen, through animal activity and waste with chapter 11 continuing the theme for Nitrogen by examining changes in grasslands. The final chapters shift emphasis from ecology more to management and conservation. Thus chapter 12 examines the accuracy of models. Chapter 13 shows that success by large herbivores can come at the expense of smaller herbivores. Chapter 14 examines different perspectives on herbivore impact by researchers working in Northern latitudes: the implication being that conservation needs to examine these areas especially in terms of re-introduction. Finally there are two chapters looking firstly at the ecosystem conservation and secondly on the ways in which systematic study can and advance our understanding.

This is a useful text focussing upon a single animal group to better understand its ecology and ethology. The range of ideas is considerable. This synthesis of current knowledge would be most useful for undergraduate ecologists and those with a specialised interest in herbivores. As such it should be seen as a key text for this group.