World of Northern Evergreens

C. Pielou E.

Description

Praise for the first edition-"This book is guaranteed to enrich the reader's next forest visit."-Library Journal"Pielou's book brings forest ecology to naturalists, bird lovers, hikers, cyclists, canoeists, skiers, mountaineers, and back-country campers."-Seattle Post-Intelligencer"It is E. C. Pielou's contention that evergreen forests... are taken for granted and rarely well understood. To remedy this, the distinguished biogeographer has written a book focusing on the northern evergreen forests. This is a book that many naturalists, both novice and experienced, will read with pleasure and interest."-Canadian Field-Naturalist "Pielou makes a strong, irrefutable, case for the preservation of old-growth forests and wilderness. Anyone who appreciates the outdoors should have this book and take its message to heart."-Forest Planning Canada Global warming and human-driven impacts from logging, natural gas drilling, mining of oil sands, and the development of hydropower increasingly threaten North America's northern forests. These forests are far from being a uniform environment; close inspection reveals that the conifers that thrive there-pines, larches, spruces, hemlocks, firs, Douglas-firs, arborvitaes, false-cypresses, junipers, and yews-support a varied and complex ecosystem. In The World of Northern Evergreens, the noted ecologist E. C. Pielou introduces the biology of the northern forests and provides a unique invitation to naturalists, ecologists, foresters, and everyone living in northern North America who wants to learn about this unique and threatened northern world and the species that make it their home. Through identification keys, descriptions, and life histories of the conifer tree species, the author emphasizes how different these plants are both biologically and evolutionarily from the hardwoods we also call "trees." Following this introduction to the essential conifers, the author's perceptive insights expand to include the interactions of conifers with other plants, fungi, mammals, birds, and amphibians. The second edition, enriched by new illustrations by the author of woodland features and creatures, updates the text to include new topics including mycorrhizal fungi, soil, woodlice, bats, and invasive insects such as the hemlock woolly adelgid. Emphasis is given to the very real human-driven impacts that threaten the species that live in and depend on the vital and complex forest ecosystem. Pielou provides us with a rich understanding of the northern forests in this work praised for its nontechnical presentation, scientific objectivity, and original illustrations.

Sujets

• Sciences et techniques
• Trees

Informations

• Publié par: Cornell University Press
• Date de parution: 03 octobre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780801463037
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

THE WORLD OF Northern Evergreens

other books by e. c. pielou

After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America A Naturalist’s Guide to the Arctic Fresh Water The Energy of Nature

THE WORLD OF Northern Evergreens

E. C. Pielou

Comstock Publishing Associates a division of Cornell University Press ithaca and london

second edition

Copyright © 2011 by Cornell University

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this

book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without

permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address

Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca,

New York 14850.

First published 2011 by Cornell University Press

First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2011

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Pielou, E. C.  The world of northern evergreens / E.C. Pielou. — 2nd ed.  p. cm.  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 9780801477409 (pbk. : alk. paper)  1. Conifers—North America. 2. Evergreens—North America. 3. Forest ecology—North America. I. Title.  QK494.P54 2011  585'.2097—dc22 2011011639

Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible

suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publish

ing of its books. Such materials include vegetablebased, lowVOC

inks and acidfree papers that are recycled, totally chlorinefree, or

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Paperback printing

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

In Memory of Patrick and Frank

Contents

Preface to the Second Editionix Preface to the First Editionxi

 1 Origin of the Evergreen Forests1 Conifers and the Ice Age, 1 The Advantages of Being Evergreen, 3 The Advantages of LongLived Leaves, 4 Enduring the Cold, 5

 2 Identifying the Conifers7 How Plants (Including Trees) Are Classified, 7 The Ten Genera, 8 The ThirtyTwo Species, 15 Conifer Families, 33

 3 Reproduction of Conifers35 Pollen Cones and Pollen, 35 Pollination, 37 A Contrast between Seed Cones and Pollen Cones, 39 Vegetative Reproduction, 40

 4 The Life and Growth of a Conifer43 Wood, 43 Cut Stumps and Whole Trees, 45 Cambium, 50 Leaves, 53 Roots, 55

Outside the

 5 Broadleafs Growing among the Conifers59 Broadleafs in a Harsh Climate, 59 Poplars, 61 Birches, 64 Alders, 65

vii

viii

contents

 6 Two Kinds of Trees: Conifers and Broadleafs67 Introduction, 67 The Ancestry of “Trees,” 67 The Basic Difference between Conifers and Broadleafs, 68 Gymnosperms Are Woody, 69 The Speed of Living, 70 The Architecture of Trees, 71 Vegetative Reproduction, 72 The Aroma of Conifers, 72

 7 Life on the Forest Floor74 The Soil, 74 Forest Flowers, 75 The Floor of the Boreal Forest, 78 Valuable Dead Wood and Debris, 79 Open Water, 81

 8 Parasites on the Conifers84 The Value of Rot and Decay, 84 Dwarf Mistletoe, 90

Decay Fungi, 84 Rusts, 86

 9 Insects and Conifers93 Insects as Feeders, 93 Beetles, 94 Caterpillars and Pseudocaterpillars, 97 Sawflies, 101 Bugs, 101 Parasitoids, 105 Ants and Others, 106

10 Some Mammals and Birds of the Forest108 Food and Shelter, 108 Seldom Seen Mammals, 108 Squirrels and Their Relatives, 111 A Rodent and a Lagomorph, 113 Big Herbivores, 115 Carnivores, 117 Big Omnivores, 118 Birds, 119

11 Natural and Unnatural Interference 125 Fire, 125 Forest Succession, 129 Snow and Wind, 130 and Acid Rain, 134 Logging, 135

12 The Big Picture138 Introduction, 138 Forest Regions, 138 Grow Where? 141

Air Pollution

What Controls Which Species

13 Global Warming and the Forests143 Introduction, 143 The Physics of Climate Change, 143 How Will Climate Change Affect the Forests? 145 Fire and the Forests, 147 Insects, Lightning, Wind, and Snow (Again), 148 The Value (If Any) of Predictions, 149

 Index 153

Preface to the Second Edition

The world has changed since 1988 (the year when the first edition of this book appeared). At last it is dawning on governments that forests are more than just a source of timber. They provide, as well, indispensable “ecological services.” Were they to disappear, climate change would speed up because the world would lose its greatest carbon sink. Ways to estimate the monetary worth of ecological services have re cently been devised. So far, they have been carried out in detail in only a few places in the world. For example,* a closedcanopy forest in Kenya (East Africa) was found to supply $320 million in services, every year, 2 from 1600 square miles (about 4100 km ). As the true worth of forests comes to be appreciated, naturalists’ knowl edge is regarded with more respect than it was in the days when their activities were looked on as no more than an enjoyable hobby. Their ex pertise has become useful and widely appreciated. The purpose of this new edition is to introduce new material on the evergreens in northern North America and to bring the earlier book uptodate. Some particulars: I have described the contrast between conifers and broadleafs (formerly, and less precisely, known as “hardwoods”) in much more detail. The enormous gap between these two kinds of plants is

* Jen Fela, “Reforestation Key to Economic Growth in Kenya,”in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment,vol. 8, no. 2, 2010, p. 63.

ix