Product Description
Companion volume to Eastern Forests, these are the first field guides that go beyond identification to interpretation, combining wildlife and plant life in a single volume, and providing today's environmentally conscious readers with insightful, intriguing ecological information. 48 color plates. 50 line drawings. ... Read more

Product Description
This reader comprises 61 selections, substantial reading and writing instruction, and finely developed reading and writing apparatus. Providing a mix of genres and including both historical and contemporary perspectives, A Forest of Voices challenges students to examine in detail the multiplicity of environments that we interact with, the complexities of those environments, and our relationships to them. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Superb Collection
I want to applaud the editors of this volume for including a diverse set of viewpoints.A few other works of this type merely include the "typical" pieces of authors such as Thoreau.While these authors are included in A Forest of Voices, other not so well-known authors are found as well.Some of these authors argue the politically correct approach to environmentalism common in our society today.Others do not, thus providing an important balance of views.While I cannot say I agree with the authors in many of the pieces, I applaud the collection of works.As its apt subtitle suggests, A Forest of Voices does provoke stimulating Conversations in Ecology. ... Read more

Product Description
Focusing on the tree species Nothofagus, or southern beech, ecologists and biogeographers here provide a comprehensive examination of the distribution, history, and ecology of this species that predominates in forests from highland New Guinea at the equator to the subantarctic latitudes of Tierra del Fuego. The Nothofagus genus offers a fascinating key to understanding historical plant geography and modern vegetation patterns. ... Read more

Product Description

Across the continental United States, one can identify 20 distinct forest cover types. Most of these are to be found on federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Those responsible for the management of trees that form the 20 different cover types and the diversity of forest wildlife that reside in them must have a solid grounding in concepts of forest management, especially silviculture, as well as concepts of wildlife management, in order to integrate both as part of any effective natural resource management plan.

Forest Wildlife Ecology and Habitat Management provides both foresters and wildlife biologists responsible for managing forest resources with an integrated understanding of the relationship between forests and wildlife. Based on David Patton’s 50 years of experience as a forester and wildlife biologist, the book shows readers how to look at forests as ecological systems and wildlife as part of the energy flow and nutrient cycling process within those systems. He offers readers a fundamental understanding of the natural processes that occur in a forest taking into consideration vegetation, water, and the natural effects of climate and time. He then provides a biological perspective on wildlife, discussing reproduction, behavior, feeding habits, and mobility. He also discusses the various influences on forests and wildlife by both natural and human-caused events.

Covering those forest types included in the U.S. National Atlas, and associating over 1,100 wildlife species with 20 major forest types in 48 states, Professor Patton provides recommendations for ways to restore and maintain wildlife habitat by direct and indirect coordination. Towards this end, the author —

• Evaluates various approaches to integrate forestry and wildlife management
• Offers a number of practical management strategies, emphasizing a progressive holistic approach
• Presents the FAAWN (Forest Attributes and Wildlife Needs) data model

A CD-ROM is included that provides readers with easy-to-use software that will help them consider more than 63,000 potential associations among forest components and wildlife within the FAAWN model.

Product Description

Part of Prentice Hall's Primate Field Studies series.  Apes of the Impenetrable Forest (The Behavioral Ecology of Sympatiric Chimpanzees and Gorillas) offers students a scholary and relevant study.

Customer Reviews (1)

not all that good
i found this book to be informative but not so much about the two apes the author's title suggested were going to be the focus of the work. it was unorthodox in the sense that his goals and research objectives were not clearly defined.it seems sort of scattered and the author goes off into anecdotes that have no real impact on the study.i see how they might be relevant, but he devotes pages to things of that sort (the story of mitch being taken hostage for example.it's relevant and entertaining but not important to the overall project.he could've summed it up or stated the fact that he was taken as a reason for concerns of safety and as that being one of the reasons for not wanting to continue the project).More time in the book seems to be disproportionately devoted to chimpanzees than gorillas.there is a section devoted to both chimps and gorillas that has information about each and seems like the book could've done w/o that section also or just a basic summary because he did have info relevant to the book but he also had a lot of things that were of no use to the reader (unless they are reading this book for fun and actually care about what's in it but even still it takes the focus away from the book and makes it difficult to see what he is hoping to achieve in his study).his reasoning for the project becomes clearer by the end of the book (seems as though he is looking at the sympatricy, if that's even a word, as a basis for trying to understand how early hominids could've coexisted).his conclusions are scattered also, it takes a great deal of reading to realize what he is trying to say instead of him just putting it bluntly.the preface gives almost no information about the nature of his project and the first few chapters do not do the reader justice in trying to understand where the book is headed.just seems like he did a poor job in arranging the book, could've been a lot better.but as i said before it is informative just not all that fun to read.this is a 100 or so page book that could've been written more concisely (probably 40-50 pages) and would've been more purposeful. ... Read more

Product Description
Forest conservation has become one of the most important environmental issues currently facing humanity, as a result of widespread deforestation and forest degradation. Pressures on remaining natural forests continue to intensify, leading to high rates of biodiversity loss. Understanding how human activities influence ecological processes within forests is essential for developing effective conservation action.
This book describes research methods and techniques relevant to understanding forest ecology, with a particular focus on those that are relevant to practical conservation and sustainable forest management. This information is currently disparate and difficult to locate and, as with other books in this series, the intention is to provide a comprehensive synthesis for use by graduate students, researchers and practising conservationists. Methods are presented for assessing forest extent and condition, structure and composition, and forest dynamics at a variety of scales. Techniques for assessing genetic variation and reproductive ecology, and for evaluating the habitat value of forests are also described. Particular emphasis is given to state-of-the-art techniques such as remote sensing, GIS, computer modelling and molecular markers. However, traditional methods of forest mensuration and ecological survey are also presented. The methods and techniques described are generally applicable to all forest types, including both temperate and tropical forest ecosystems. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Protect the Ecology, Restoration and Preservation of our Forests
Fragile Kingdoms of innumerable organisms and rich beauty, forests today are among our most endangered natural resources. John Berger urges us to learn what can be done to restore, protect the complex issues surrounding forest ecology, policies and conservation. Berger evaluates the governments policies over the past decade, and compares the destructive policies and President George W. Bush Administration with other Administrations.
Adam Werbach, former president of the Sierra Club, declares this book to to be "the best introductory guide to forest practices and the issues surrounding the preservation of our American forests." ... Read more

Product Description
Once regarded solely as the cultivation of forest trees, silviculture is today shifting to a broader focus, one that reflec ts societies’ changing forest values. In addition to timber management, the prac tice and science of silviculture are now concerned with tending forests—to reduce fire potential, benefit wildlife, and maintain aesthetics—and with ensuring options for future uses of the forest. In Silviculture and Ecology of Western U.S. Forests, John Tappeiner, Douglas Maguire, and Timothy Harrington follow the progression of silviculture as a science and look closely at the value of forests. The only silviculture text to focus on the forests of the western U.S., primarily those in Oregon, Washington, and California, it is based on over 900 references as well as the authors’ extensive research and management experience. This timely work includes detailed chapters on fire, shrub ecology, density measurements, thinning, reforestation, and ecosystem variables such as insec ts, fungi, soils, and water stress. It explores topics such as natural vegetation dynamics that help predic t and explain silviculture treatments, and how slight modifications in thinning prac tices can benefit wildlife and reduce the potential for insec t damage. Readers will come to understand the significance of carefully managing forests by conscious design, providing for a range of forest ecosystems and resources. An essential reference for forest managers, policy makers, forest scientists, and students (the book includes a set of study questions), this authoritative volume provides a basis for silviculture prac tices and contemporary management of western forests. ... Read more

Product Description
After a fire, you might think a burned area is as barren and lifeless as the moon. But take a closer look and you'll find that even before the last wisps of smoke have cleared, the newly burned forest is already teeming with life. Many plants and animals find fertile ground here to grow, eat, and have offspring; some species are dependent on fire and cannot thrive or reproduce without it. Unlike most books, which concentrate on the fire itself, The Charcoal Forest explores the new habitat created by the fire. Focusing on the Northern Rocky Mountains of the United States and Canada, the book describes twenty species of animals and plants that contribute to the reclamation and renewal of the charcoal forest. Why do some beetles fly toward a fire? Why will you almost never see a black-backed woodpecker outside of burned areas? How do fires help grow yummy treats like huckleberries and morel mushrooms? Kids and adults will delight in discovering the answers to these and other burning questions-and don't forget to find the black-backed woodpecker in the picture! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Informative and Fun
What a GREAT book!The nature of this book has been needed for a long time.The Charcoal Forest addresses the need for an understanding of the benefits of fires in our landscape in a wonderfully drawn, interactive way for all ages including adults.Our current mentality of stopping fires lessens the benefits the birds, bugs, and other plants obtains from the ashes of a forest fire.A book which encourages thoughtful ideas about how nature recovers from devastating events.

The Charcoal Forrest
Beth Peluso has written an informative and engaging book for children about how forests recover from fires. It is amazing how many plants and animals actually need fire.Additionally, her illustrations are superb, depicting wildlife from fascinating angles and perspectives.I highly recommend "The Charcoal Forest."

A final section offers more fun facts about the forest species featured
Written by avid birder, day camp counselor, and substitute teacher Beth A. Peluso, The Charcoal Forest: How Fire Helps Animals and Plants is an educational softcover picturebook about the ecology of fire in the Rocky Mountains, and plants and animals that actually depend upon fire to survive. From the black-backed woodpecker that depends on the beetle larvae in burned tree trunks (there's a woodpecker in every beautiful color picture!) to the deer mouse that feasts on seeds exposed by fire, to plants like the huckleberry bush that need space cleared so they can receive more light, and many more, The Charcoal Forest offers an amazing glimpse into species that thrive in the wake of regular or sporadic forest fires. A final section offers more fun facts about the forest species featured, a glossary, an index, and a list of resources that young readers can look up to learn more. Highly recommended, especially for elementary school and public library children's collections. ... Read more

Product Description

Discover Rain Forests

INsiders brings rain forests to life, with the most up-to-date information and state-of-the-art 3-D illustrations that practically leap off every page, stimulating minds and imaginations in a whole new way. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

Everything you wanted to know about the rainforest!
This book is loaded with great facts and information about rainforests around the world. We bought several copies for our classroom. The book coincides beautifully with our lessons about the rainforest including location, layers, plant and animal diversity and adaptations, products and medicines derived from the rainforest, and the reasons for and methods ofdestruction.Illustrations of plants and animals help bring the rainforest to life.

Rainforests
I thought Richard Vogt's Rain Forests was a great resource to learn about rainforests for children in the intermediate grades.It was like a mini-encyclopedia, loaded with facts.It described the layers of the forest: the emergent, canopy, understory, and forest floor along with the air plants (epiphytes) and animals that lived at the different layers. Richard also discussed deforestation and the future.The 3-D illustrations were wonderful.

My only critizism is on a few pages, Richard didn't state if it was the African, Asian, or American rainforest.

Thomas Sandusky, author of Gracie the Glass Tree Frog

Vivid and Informative
Rain Forests is a vividly illustrated book. It's sometimes hard to tell if an image is a photograph or an illustration and I don't mean that in a bad way. It describes the rainforest and its animal inhabitants by describing the various layers of the rainforest from the skies and canopy all the way down to the ground and waterways.I found it fun and informative and I even have it on the coffee table in the living room. My 2 1/2 year old is another story. She likes the frog on the cover but that's about it. The illustrations are too complex and the text is too dense. Of course, this book is not targeted at children her age. I think it's for 9-12 year olds. So I'm adding just to provide more info and not as a negative comment.

Ten stars - highly recommend!
I have been a big fan of the DK books. I was hesitant when I ordered this because there is a DK counter part. But I am so glad I did!
Allow me to share a little story to explain why I am so excited about this book - growing up in China, my parents taught me the way to approach a subject is to first "read it thinner" and then "read it thicker". For exams, it is "reading it thinner" that matters the most. So I have the habit of "re-write" each book into a few themes with tree like structures and then add necessary leaves and bloomes, if you will.
The Insiders' Rain Forest did that, but in a much more artistic and technologically advanced way.
My 7-year old read a few chapters (each chapter is a open-book 2-pager) very carefully, studying the little details of the graphics and text. I am sure he will finish this book at some point and it has kept his interests so far.
Highly recommend and I will look for more Insiders books.

Extremely cool and close look at rain forest plants and animals
This book has excellent illustration and very good descriptions of what is happening in rain forests around the world.I originally got it for my daughter though it was a bit old for her as she is only 3.I thought it was super cool, and she got a kick out of some of the pages.

I think this will prove very cool for her as she gets older. ... Read more

Product Description
This new edition of Whitmore's classic introduction to tropical rain forests has been comprehensively revised and updated, reflecting the changes which have taken place since it was first published in 1990. The sections on human impact have been extended to include a new global assessment of deforestation as well as details of new research on biodiversity and conservation. Discussion of the future of the rain forests and priorities for action is incorporated. The book remains unique in linking rain forest biology and ecology with silviculture, and with concerns over sustainable resource utilization and the future of the tropical rain forests. It includes sections on the diverse animal and plant life forms which are found in the rain forest, and the interconnections between them. Nutrient cycles and forest dynamics are fully explained, with new data on ecophysiology and forest microclimates. The geologic and climatic history of rain forests, and the wide-spread canopy disturbances now understood to have occurred in the past, are explored. Accessibly written, and illustrated throughout with line-drawings and photographs, this is a must for biology and geography students, and anyone else who seeks to know more about the nature and importance of the world's tropical rain forests. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Good introduction to tropical rainforest
This book is a good general introduction to the tropical rainforest of the world. It includes sections on plants, ecology, convergent evolution, and human use. It has some black and white photographs and 'classic' diagrams and graphs. It's technical level is probably that of early university ecology. (It is obviously good, as someone has knocked my copy off!)
Damon Ramsey, author of "Rainforest of tropical Australia"

this book was very enriching and enlightening, spiritual
It was a book that helped me gain knowledge but it also made me want to go out and explore it, it was fabulousIcould hardly put it down and it helped a lot with my research paper. Thanks ... Read more

Product Description

While most efforts at biodiversity conservation have focused primarily on protected areas and reserves, the unprotected lands surrounding those area?the "matrix"?are equally important to preserving global biodiversity and maintaining forest health. In Conserving Forest Biodiversity, leading forest scientists David B. Lindenmayer and Jerry F. Franklin argue that the conservation of forest biodiversity requires a comprehensive and multiscaled approach that includes both reserve and nonreserve areas. They lay the foundations for such a strategy, bringing together the latest scientific information on landscape ecology, forestry, conservation biology, and related disciplines as they examine:

• the importance of the matrix in key areas of ecology such as metapopulation dynamics, habitat fragmentation, and landscape connectivity
• general principles for matrix management
• using natural disturbance regimes to guide human disturbance
• landscape-level and stand-level elements of matrix management
• the role of adaptive management and monitoring
• social dimensions and tensions in implementing matrix-based forest management

Conserving Forest Biodiversity presents strategies for enhancing matrix management that can play a vital role in the development of more effective approaches to maintaining forest biodiversity. It examines the key issues and gives practical guidelines for sustained forest management, highlighting the critical role of the matrix for scientists, managers, decisionmakers, and other stakeholders involved in efforts to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem processes in forest landscapes. ... Read more

Product Description
Winner of the
New England Book Award Best
Nonfiction Award
and the Franklin Fairbanks
Award of the Fairbanks Museum

In a book destined to become a classic, biologist and acclaimed nature writer Bernd Heinrich takes readers on an eye-opening journey through the hidden life of a forest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (13)

You'll never look at trees the same way again.
Even though it's been several years since I've read this book, I still think of it often and treasure Bernd Heinrich's gentle lessons about the lives of trees.The thought that trees actively pursue life - and even move - was a novel idea for me. This and many of the other observations Mr. Heinrich makes in this book have made a lasting difference to me not only in the way that I see the natural world but also the way that I approach issues in my every day life.

This book would make a thoughtful gift for anyone who has a love of the outdoors.It's not just about ecology or forestry- it's not even a statement about conservation.You don't need a scientific background or an agenda to enjoy this book.You just need a love of nature and the willingness to consider life as it grows around you.

The real meaning of "ecology"
Bernd Heinrich's abilities in acute perception are well portrayed in this book.He possesses extensive scientific training and research in natural conditions - having published on bees, ravens and geese.This account ties much of that research to a wider view of those animals' home territories.It's a study of the patches of woods surrounding his home.What trees are growing there, and why?Which animals and birds are attracted to the area, and what keeps them away?What's the value of a forest fire, and is "machine logging" more destructive to the forest environment than the more traditional felling and dragging?All these and more questions are addressed here with deep insight and related with Heinrich's fine expressive powers.It may not be too much to say that if you own but one book on trees and forest environments, this is the one to have.

Raised in rural Maine, Heinrich returned in 1977 and restored a 122-hectare bush near his early home.Heinrich describes himself as "partly arboreal", but adds to that a weighty talent for patience.As he has demonstrated in other books, he can sit for hours observing birds and insects.Trees require a different sort of patience; one that needs the additional dedication to record changes over lengthy time periods.He studies their growth and how they spread their offspring around the land.Which trees are shade-tolerant and which need extensive sunlight?Which ones encourage certain insects or birds, and how. Which ones attract them and how?He describes the way trees draw water from the ground - a molecule at a time at the leaf end, not "pumped" from below.Consider the evolutionary steps that led a species of pine to retain its seeds until very special conditions ensue.The cone housing them pops open and disperses them only when the temperature reaches 60 degrees- heat that can only be generated by a forest fire.

We all abhor the destructive force of a forest fire, but that's only because we fail to consider the forest from the tree's longer perspective.As trees die and fall, new patches of soil are exposed to the sun, bringing in species competing for resources.Fire is the only way to cleanse the forest floor and eliminate some trees shading others.As recovery species emerge, moose and other browser species again populate the forest.More birds and small mammals also arrive, extending the diversity but also acting as tree predators.Heinrich's account of how trees control predation is enlightening.One is tempted to ask whether a tree "thinks".As he makes clear, however, the control is part of the co-evolutionary process of a tree and its environment.

Logging is another intrusion on forests and Heinrich is scathing at how the industry handles the forest.Centred on the ubiquitous white pine, lumbering his area goes back to the early colonial period.At one time Bangor, Maine, was the greatest lumber shipping port in the world - in thirty years its population jumped from 277 to over fourteen thousand."Clear-cutting" does more than just remove trees.It destroys the foundation of mycorrhizal fungi that are part of the tree's nutritional network.The replacement of felled trees by plantations of single types denies the development of the proper ecological balance a true forest requires to flourish.The next generation of trees is shorter and less robust than those first taken.On the other hand, Heinrich notes the differing impact on the forest when trees are felled and removed by horse, dragged out on a skid or both felled and removed by a huge mechanism.The giant "cutter-buncher" was the least environmentally damaging!

Heinrich's prose style, which, translated into classroom lectures surely keeps attendance high, gives the reader a sense of being right in company during his wanderings and watchings.Under his deft touch, the word "ecology" rises above the status of "environmentalist" buzzword.Without ever using the term, he demonstrates the importance of understanding the interacting of all the parts of a forest, from microbes to arboreal giants.The reader isn't overwhelmed by technicalities, but the science of his account permeates every page.Add to that expressive ability, the detailed drawings, images of trees and their components, capped by sweeping aerial photographs all provide the panorama a forest requires to tell its story completely. Heinrich provides the narrative, but it's the forest itself dictating the account.[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]

The trees and the roots and the way things work
This thoughtfully entertaining volume reports a close look at three hundred acres of Maine -- a forest ecosystem and the many lives it contains and impacts. Just over two decades before this writing, Heinrich returned to his native state and bought an old farm near his boyhood home. The grown scientist revisits childhood memories, seeing the whole and the parts with deeper understanding. He shares profound insights into biology and interdependence, evolution and population dynamics. Each essay follows a different strand of the web of lives: mice, mushrooms, sapsuckers, giant trees and tiny clubmosses each held up for a closer look. Heinrich seems more resigned to "progress" than I will ever be, and more optimistic about the future of our forests, but his lucid observations deepened my appreciation of the subtlety of natural systems and their ability to adapt. I could not agree more with his observation that "a vision of eco-system as life is a common thread that, if taught and encouraged, could unite all of mankind."

Introduction to the Science of Trees
This book is an informal introduction to the science of trees.Heinrich, known for his studies on animal behavior, originally trained in forest ecology.In this book, he provides a general introduction to many aspects of forest ecology.Starting from the acreage surrounding his cabin in Northern Maine, Heinrich considers many different aspects of the trees he encounters there, from the overgrown apple orchards to oaks and pines, from tree evolution to tree geometry and tree reproduction.In addition to the trees, he also examines other elements of the forest ecosystem, including fungi, birds, and insects. End material includes a checklist of trees found in Northern Maine and an extensive list of references.The book is illustrated with black-and-white drawings and a set of color plates, all drawn by Heinrich. This is an excellent introduction to forest ecology suitable for general readers and beginning naturalists alike.

Great Book
This book does not disappoint.It is written in Mr Heinrick's usual style which puts complex scientific information into language the average person can understand.He doesn't dumb it down; he explains how a process works by giving first hand observations and his opinions. It was as if I was sitting with him in his woods.He explained the science behind our ordinary observations-why some trees are tall and other not, how they grow from center and lateral buds and how that can show age for example. This is a very enjoyable book for the nature/outdoors reader.I learned much from it and had a good time doing it. ... Read more

Product Description
Explore the exciting world of the forest, where more than 125 different bugs, worms, and small critters play out the drama of life in miniature. Seven different life-size forest habitats, exploring the leaf-litter to the tree-top canopy through all four seasons, are vividly depicted in enticingly lush photographic scenes. Each scene is followed by "field notes" which identify all animals, relate intriguing facts about survival in each habitat, and share the excitement of discovery. Includes forest exploration hints, essential safety information, and a "picture index" for easy reference. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Forest Explorer Book
These books are simply amazing. The pictures in them are wonderful. I even enjoy looking at the books. Each page has a scene and on the next page you can find all of the bugs, animals etc. with a their name and a description of them. It's wonderful. It's things your child would find out doors. It's brillant well worth the money. My kids love the books!

Very bright full-page photos packed with supplemental detail
This slightly oversized field guide may prove a shelving challenge but its bright color and encouragement to kids to explore their world can't be overlooked The chapters comprising Forest Explorer are simply packed with field notes help young naturalists identify common insects, birds, and mammals to be located in the usual backyard world. What sets this apart from others is its focus on very bright full-page photos packed with supplemental detail. Very highly recommended.
... Read more

Product Description
A gorgeously-written exploration of the natural world and the peril of ignoring our disappearing forests

One of the world's experts on how trees chemically affect the environment, Canadian scientist Diana Beresford-Kroeger is on a mission to save the planet- one newly planted tree at a time. In this new book, she skillfully weaves together ecology, ethnobotany, horticulture, spirituality, science, and alternative medicine to capture the magic spell that trees cast over us, from their untapped ecological and pharmaceutical potential to the roles they have played in our cultural heritage. Trees not only breathe and communicate; they also reproduce, provide shelter, medicine, and food, and connect disparate elements of the natural world. In celebrating forests' function and beauty, Beresford-Kroeger warns what a deforested world would look like. Her revolutionary bioplan proposes how trees can be planted in urban and rural areas to promote health and counteract pollution and global warming, main­taining biodiversity in the face of climate change.

Presented in short interconnected essays, The Global Forest draws from ancient storytelling traditions to present an unforgettable work of natural history. Beresford-Kroeger is an imaginative thinker who writes with the precision of a scientist and the lyricism of a poet. Her indisputable passion for her subject matter will inspire readers to look at trees with newfound awe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A classic work that helps us see the forest through the trees.
This is a remarkable blending of art and science in forty gems of storytelling about trees. Each of the forty stories in this book are precious and inspiring and can easily stand on their own. To receive all of these stories in one delicious work is a wonderful gift that both enlightens you and burdens you with the incredible responsibility you have as a steward of the tree kingdom. The author's scientific background shines through while she delivers each story almost in poetic terms. This is a rare opportunity to read a book that will fire up all parts of your brain at once and leave your thinking about trees changed forever!

wonderful read
It is finally possible to forsee how the planet and us are linked, solutions all included. Thanks to the very extended knowledge of Diana Beresford-Kroeger , we can understend the forest for what it really is, a garden, a pharmacy, a place where prayers are answered, a solution to global warming, an environment to be respected and learned about, a well of ressources and jobs. Thank you!

Botanical poetry
I purchased this book based on a newspaper interview with author, a botanical scientist who promotes the potential for forests to fight pollution, climate change and even human illness through their natural processes and products. I expected it to be a somewhat dry but informative guide to the practical botany of trees. It is in fact something completely different.
A slender volume (166 pages of text, including introduction), it is organized into forty "chapters" that are really 4-6-page essays on specific aspects of tree physiology or chemistry. But perhaps because of the Irish ancestry she references at the outset, with its tradition of storytelling, the form of the essays is far from scientific but rather that of almost mystical, poetic appreciation. They even begin with a subtitle "refrain" that captures the essence of each piece. Yes, the book is full of the amazing facts I was hoping to find - such as the existence of warm-blooded plants and the complex chemistry that trees have evolved in order to survive. And there is a hopeful theme of the potential to reverse global ecologic devastation through reforestation. But most of all this is the sensually and lovingly written ode of a passionate scientist, harking back to writers of more enlightened ages when this would not have been considered an oxymoron. Read it for the information, enjoy it for the style.
... Read more

Product Description
The tremendous increase in demand for outdoor recreational facilities in the last thirty years has met with little or no growth in the resources available. Parks managers are faced with stagnant financial resources, stifling development restrictions, and an increasingly heavy flood of campers, skiers and snowboarders, rock climbers, and mountain cyclists. This book presents the crucial information professional recreational resources managers need to know to simultaneously protect the environment and make it accessible for recreational use. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

All You Need
This is such a great book.I originally got it for a Park Resource Management class while pursuing my Master's degree.This is definitely one of those books that you hang on to after you finish the class.

Wildland Recreation has so many different resources.There are pictures, charts, graphs, diagrams, and my favorite- case studies and examples of research.It is a great reference to use when writing papers or doing other research, because you can go look up the study.Not only that, but at the end of each chapter, all the references are provided, making it easy to search for what you need outside of this book.

Wildland Recreation is well written and understandable.The information is clear and straightforward, easy to comprehend.The chapters and sections are nicely divided into categories. This is a great book for anyone interested in any aspect of wildland management. ... Read more

Product Description

Trees and vegetation in cities aren’t just there to make the place look pretty. They have an important ecological function. This book contains studies and perspectives on urban forests from a broad array of basic and applied scientific disciplines including ecosystem ecology, biogeochemistry, landscape ecology, plant community ecology, geography, and social science. The book includes contributions from experts around the world, allowing the reader to evaluate methods and management that are appropriate for particular geographic, environmental, and socio-political contexts.

Product Description
As seen from Skylab a mere ten years ago, the Amazon Basin was a dense expanse of trees stretching from horizon to horizon.Broken only by winding rivers, it was a lush image of endless growth.More recent photographs, however, depict quite a different landscape: a blazing forest enshrouded in a vast cloud of smoke that thinned only at the foot of the Andes.Once it was difficult to comprehend the extent of rain forests; now it is hard to comprehend the extent of their destruction. In 1989 alone, more than 55,000 square miles of rain forests were lost around the world: burned for cattle ranching and small-scale farming, flooded by dam projects, plundered for precious ores, timber, and rare species of animals and plants, scarred by roads built by the ravaging invaders.If the present rate of deforestation continues, many rain forests in tropical America, Africa, and Asia will be gone by the end of the next century.In fact, less than .02 percent are currently being managed on a sustainable basis.

The Last Rain Forests is an authoritative, comprehensive, and--with more than 200 full color photographs and maps--stunningly beautiful guide to the people, flora, and fauna of the richest habitats on earth. Prepared in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a consortium of some 500 major conservation organizations across the globe, and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, this is the first popular reference to map the world's rain forests, spell out the problems facing these regions, and propose realistic strategies for ensuring their survival.It discusses in detail what the world's rain forests are, how they work, who lives in them, and why we need them, and explores the threats they face today.The volume then presents a unique, thoroughly up-to-date atlas of more than fifty rain forests, from the Caribbean to Central Africa, from Brazil to Bangladesh.It concludes with concrete proposals for saving these imperiled regions and, ultimately, our planet.

A pictorial feast, an authoritative reference, and a blueprint for change, The Last Rain Forests allows readers to shape informed opinions--and take positive action--on one of the most pressing environmental issues of our day. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The rain forests are doomed..............
It is sad to read the title "The LAST Rain Forests", because it means, that they are doomed to extinction.This book offers a comprehensive overview about the tropical forests in general from the ecological, biological and conservationists points of view. It also puts into perspective the pressures imposed on the forests by humans and the challenges to establish strategies for the conservation of the flora and fauna.I wish our future generations should not have to live through the sad experience of watching the last forest, going....., going....., and GONE FOREVER!! Great book, although a little old (from the early nineties) it is still a great resource for everyone, young and old. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

Fascinating book
This is an amazing book for any one to read but if you spend time in the rain forest or tropics, or you are interested in envionmental issues you will be amazed.It gives you an understanding of how everything is dependent on everything else, and how one change in the environment can result in catastropic results.It's a good read, too.
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Fantastic!
I first read this book before I went on a research trip in the tropics. Teachers and students all love this book! It's a great primer before a trip, or a great inspiration to go in the first place. Smooth and easy language from knowledgeable authors that you don't have to be a science graduate to understand. I recommend this to anyone and everyone who ever thought about visiting tropical rain forest.

Decent book, a little underwhelming
We used this book for a course I taught in Costa Rica, essentially doing a chapter a day.It was informative for the class and work well in that capacity, but it isn't what I would call an especially good or deep read.It's interesting, but not transformative, I suppose.

Tropical Nature: An Easy and Fun Read for the Science 101 Student
I recently was required to read a book not specifically assigned by our professor but of something that sparks our interest and write a review on that book.I chose this book and found it to be a great choice.The class that this assignment was for was Physical Geography, which is a 100 level class.As a rookie in this area, I found my choice to be very informative and easy to understand.The authors clearly do a great job of writing this book for people of all degrees of knowledge in this area.They are able to mix some humor into the book that adds life to it rather than the boring, dry, text books we are all used to reading.For someone who hasn't read this book yet, you will find out what I mean by humor early on in the book when the author talks about dung scarab beetles.The authors cover a large portion of material in a laid back way that makes this read enjoyable even for financial economics majors who are required to take a lab class (like myself).It also provides you with enough knowledge and facts where one could keep a conversation going with a Bio major and not sound like an idiot. Overall a great read.

A must read
If you are visiting the rain forest, you absolutely must read this books first! It is well written and has a very broad scope.A good starting place to guide your own experiments and explorations in this wonderful part of the world. ... Read more