Applied ecology Books

Book Synopsis“Could there be something humbling and revolutionary in understanding myself as a site of contamination?” Groundglass takes shape atop a polluted aquifer in Minnesota, beside trains that haul fracked crude oil, as Kathryn Savage confronts the transgressions of U.S. Superfund sites and brownfields against land, groundwater, neighborhoods, and people. Drawing on her own experiences growing up on the fence lines of industry and the parallel realities of raising a young son while grieving a father dying of a cancer with known environmental risk factors, Savage traces concentric rings of connection—between our bodies, one another, our communities, and our ecosystem. She explores the porous boundary between self and environment, and the ambiguous yet growing body of evidence linking toxins to disease. Equal parts mourning poem and manifesto for environmental justice, Groundglass reminds us that no living thing exists on its own.Trade Review“Like Joan Didion in The Year of Magical Thinking, Savage approaches grief by situating her thoughts within the conversations of other writers, including Terry Tempest Williams, Jacques Roubaud and Camille T. Dungy, but in so doing, her individual mourning moves quickly and fruitfully to larger discussions about how our bodies are connected to the spaces around us. . . . Savage balances the personal with research so readers can feel both why she cares and why we should. This work is a worthy reflection.” —Abby Manzella, Star Tribune“From Superfund sites and brownfields to polluted waters and the local industrial yard of her childhood, Savage delivers her poetic dispatches from injured places. Through memoir, essay, and reportage twined with her grief for a dying father and the challenges of early parenthood, she explores the relationships between toxicity and disease, and the unbreakable connections between people and places.” —Orion Magazine“Savage’s work in Groundglass is about bringing similar stories from disparate individuals across multiple states, linking what can feel like individual instances of industrial failure to display the systemic issues harming so many. . . . To imagine possibilities for remediation, to consider how to form communities around care for land and care for people. The work begins with looking, but it cannot end there.” —Julia Shiota, Belt Magazine“Savage masterfully unites the personal and the political through lyrical flair and an inquisitive approach into environmental existentialism. . . . Groundglass is a spiritual sequel to Rachel Carson’s landmark Silent Spring. But the beauty and dedication of Groundglass is worthy of more than a flattering comparison. Savage’s writing is both scholarly and accessible, resulting in a powerful and profound debut.” —Evan Youngs, Rain Taxi Review of Books“Savage combines memoir with environmental and social commentary in her haunting debut. . . . A work of both elegiac beauty and horror. . . . This one’s tough to forget.” —Publishers Weekly“A lyrical exploration of grief and ecology. . . . [A] prismatic debut in the guise of a grief memoir, but the narrative encompasses ecological investigations of brownfields and Superfund sites. . . . Savage creates a compelling meditation that flows beyond the typical stylings of memoir, journalism, and theory. An interrogative, existential crisis at the center of an ongoing ecological one.” —Kirkus“In the midst of congressional chaos, industrial pollution, land and water contamination, bodily disease, and necessary reparations, Savage’s work demands we take heed and have courage, and with imagination and introspection, ‘learn how to build’ again.” —Tara Friedman, West Trade Review“A poetic reckoning with environmental pollution and its unavoidable connection to human bodies. . . . Groundglass tenderly dissolves the perceived boundary between environment and self . . . [and] invites readers to settle into their own bodies and cultivate an ever-deepening awareness of the spaces they occupy.” —Lillie Gardner, EcoLit Books“Groundglass is a work of beauty—like the superfunds Kathryn Savage investigates, which green and bloom and renew despite it all. Reading Savage’s writing is like taking a walk beside a friend with an extraordinary eye for all the unlikely and remarkable details along the path, the ones you would have missed if you had to walk it alone.” —Kathryn Nuernberger“How does one build a home? A family? What are the ways they might come apart? I myself grew up within wind’s distance of Love Canal. In times marked by Chernobyl, Fukushima, by fracking and spills, compromised air and water, the relationship between toxicity and the bloodstream feels intimate and immediate. This probing book asks the hard questions in a compelling blend of memoir, essay, biography, and reportage. The inside is the outside now. The outside is inside.” —Kazim Ali“Kathryn Savage roots down into one broken place––a place most would rather overlook––and listens. Here, every relationship the author tends––with herself, with her son, with the father that begot her and the neighborhood where he raised her up––twists into unsettling shapes thanks to what this land has been forced to hold. Groundglass is both a commitment and a grappling, and for that reason it will stay with me for a very long time.” —Elizabeth Rush “Through exquisitely honed language and poetic imagery, Kathryn Savage skillfully juxtaposes her father’s cancer with the ecological violence she witnessed at toxic Superfund sites, crafting an unflinching portrayal of ‘the world as body.’” —Diane Wilson

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Book SynopsisAt Great Salt Lake, near Robert Smithson’s iconic earthwork Spiral Jetty, a motley crew of scientists walks the mudflats to study fossils in the making. This reputedly dead sea is home to tar seeps, pools of raw oil (nicknamed ‘death traps’) that act as a preservative, encasing organisms as they were in life.In this spare landscape, an intricate web of life unfurls. Halophiles―salt-hungry microorganisms―tint the brackish water pink and orange; crystals of gypsum stud the ground, glistening underfoot; and pelicans and other migratory birds stop for a crucial rest. Barn owls and seagulls flirt with their prey around the seeping constellations, sometimes falling prey to the oil themselves. Gretchen Henderson came to the tar seeps, a kind of natural asphalt, after recovering from being hit by a car as she walked in a crosswalk―a manmade asphalt. Like the spiraling artwork that made Great Salt Lake’s north shore famous, Henderson’s associations of life and death, degeneration and regeneration, and injury and healing coalesced. As she reexamined pressing issues that this delicate area revealed about the climate crisis, her sense of ecology spiraled into other ways of perceiving the lake’s entangled lives.How do we move beyond narrow concepts of wounded and healed, the beautiful and the ugly, to care for ecosystems that evolve over time? How do we confront our vulnerability to recognize kindred dynamics in our living planet? Through shifting lake levels, bird migrations, microbial studies, environmental arts, and cultural histories shaped by indigenous knowledges and colonial legacies, Life in the Tar Seeps contemplates the ways that others have understood this body of water, enlivening more than this region alone. As Henderson witnesses scientists, arts curators, land managers, and students working collaboratively to steward a challenging place, she grows to see the lake not as dead but as a watershed for shifting perceptions of any overlooked place, offering a meditation on environmental healing across the planet.Henderson interweaves her journey with her own vivid photographs of tar seeps and pelican death assemblages, historic maps and contemporary art, as a wayfinding guide for exploring places of our own.Trade ReviewPraise for Ugliness: A Cultural History"Gretchen Henderson’s work is “wide-ranging and frequently illuminating.” — New Yorker"A multifarious book . . . Engagingly written and copiously illustrated.” — Choice“Henderson closely observes various cases of ugliness, wandering through centuries with a keen eye, nose, ear, and mouth.” — Rumpus“A provocative book [that] forces us to reflect on our tastes and fears, our social conventions, and our everyday notions of justice.” — Literary Review“A fascinating meditation on a slippery subject.” — Guardian

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Book SynopsisLand abandonment is increasing as human influence on the globe intensifies and various ecological, social, and economic factors conspire to force the cessation of agriculture and other forms of land management. The "old fields" that result from abandonment have been the subject of much study, yet few attempts have been made to examine the larger questions raised by old field dynamics."Old Fields" brings together leading experts from around the world to synthesize past and current work on old fields, providing an up-to-date perspective on the ecological dynamics of abandoned land. The book gives readers a broad understanding of why agricultural land is abandoned, the factors that determine the ecological recovery of old fields, and how this understanding contributes to theoretical and applied ecology.Twelve case studies from diverse geographical and climatic areas - including Australian rainforest, Brazilian Amazonia, New Jersey piedmont, and South African renosterveld - offer a global perspective on the causes and results of land abandonment. Concluding chapters consider the similarities and differences among the case studies, examine them in the context of ecological concepts, and discuss their relevance to the growing field of restoration ecology."Old Fields" is the first book to draw together studies on old fields from both a theoretical and practical perspective. It represents an important contribution to the development of theory on old field dynamics and the practice of ecological restoration on abandoned farmland, and the broader implications of old field dynamics to ecology and restoration.

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Book SynopsisBrings together a series of short essays that reveal the full range of Ian McHarg's thoughts on design and nature. It is an ideal reader for undergraduate and graduate students in planning and landscape architecture.Trade Review"Ian McHarg's work is seminal; it is an ethical and scientific touchstone for everyone trying to discern humanity's rightful and meaningful place as part of the natural world. He moved ecology from a marginal to a central concern and changed design and planning forever." - WILLIAM A. MCDONOUGH, FAIA, DEAN, SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, AND AUTHOR OF THE HANNOVER PRINCIPLES"

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Book SynopsisA growing body of evidence shows that agricultural landscapes can be managed not only to produce crops but also to support biodiversity and promote ecosystem health. Innovative farmers and scientists, as well as indigenous land managers, are developing diverse types of "ecoagriculture" landscapes to generate co-benefits for production, biodiversity, and local people."Farming with Nature" offers a synthesis of the state of knowledge of key topics in ecoagriculture. The book is a unique collaboration among renowned agricultural and ecological scientists, leading field conservationists, and farm and community leaders to synthesize knowledge and experience across sectors.The book examines: the knowledge base for ecoagriculture as well as barriers, gaps, and opportunities for developing improved ecoagriculture systems; what we have learned about managing landscapes to achieve multiple objectives at a landscape scale; existing incentives for farmers, other land managers, and investors to develop and invest in ecoagriculture systems; and pathways to develop, implement, manage, and scale up successful ecoagriculture.Insights are drawn from around the world, in tropical, Mediterranean, and temperate environments, from farming systems that range from highly commercialized to semi-subsistence. "Farming with Nature" is an important new work that can serve as a foundation document for planners, farm organizations, researchers, project developers, and policy makers to develop strategies for promoting and sustaining ecoagriculture landscapes. Replete with valuable best practice guidelines, it is a critical resource for both practitioners and researchers in the field.

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Book SynopsisThis title articulates a valuable new approach to managing marine ecosystems. Conventional management approaches cannot meet the challenges faced by ocean and coastal ecosystems today. Consequently, national and international bodies have called for a shift toward more comprehensive ecosystem-based marine management. Synthesizing a vast amount of current knowledge, "Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans" is a comprehensive guide to utilizing this promising new approach. At its core, ecosystem-based management (EBM) is about acknowledging connections. Instead of focusing on the impacts of single activities on the delivery of individual ecosystem services, EBM focuses on the array of services that we receive from marine systems, the interactive and cumulative effects of multiple human activities on these coupled ecological and social systems, and the importance of working towards common goals across sectors. "Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans" provides a conceptual framework for students and professionals who want to understand and utilize this powerful approach. And it employs case studies that draw on the experiences of EBM practitioners to demonstrate how EBM principles can be applied to real-world problems. The book emphasizes the importance of understanding the factors that contribute to social and ecological resilience - the extent to which a system can maintain its structure, function, and identity in the face of disturbance. Utilizing the resilience framework, professionals can better predict how systems will respond to a variety of disturbances, as well as to a range of management alternatives. "Ecosystem-Based Management for the Oceans" presents the latest science of resilience, while it provides tools for the design and implementation of responsive EBM solutions.

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Book SynopsisSome ecosystem management plans established by state and federal agencies have begun to shift their focus away from single-species conservation to a broader goal of protecting a wide range of flora and fauna, including species whose numbers are scarce or about which there is little scientific understanding. To date, these efforts have proved extremely costly and complex to implement. Are there alternative approaches to protecting rare or little-known species that can be more effective and less burdensome than current efforts?"Conservation of Rare or Little-Known Species" represents the first comprehensive scientific evaluation of approaches and management options for protecting rare or little-known terrestrial species. The book brings together leading ecologists, biologists, botanists, economists, and sociologists to classify approaches, summarize their theoretical and conceptual foundations, evaluate their efficacy, and review how each has been used.Contributors consider combinations of species and systems approaches for overall effectiveness in meeting conservation and ecosystem sustainability goals. They discuss the biological, legal, sociological, political, administrative, and economic dimensions by which conservation strategies can be gauged, in an effort to help managers determine which strategy or combination of strategies is most likely to meet their needs. Contributors also discuss practical considerations of implementing various strategies."Conservation of Rare or Little-Known Species" gives land managers access to a diverse literature and provides them with the basic information they need to select approaches that best suit their conservation objectives and ecological context. It is an important new work for anyone involved with developing land management or conservation plans.

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Book SynopsisThis title offers new understanding of fire in the Rockies from a landscape-scale, multi-century perspective. "Fire Ecology in Rocky Mountain Landscapes" brings a century of scientific research to bear on improving the relationship between people and fire. In recent years, some scientists have argued that current patterns of fire are significantly different from historical patterns, and that landscapes should be managed with an eye toward re-establishing past fire regimes. At the policy level, state and federal agencies have focused on fuel reduction and fire suppression as a means of controlling fire. Geographer William L. Baker takes a different view, making the case that the available scientific data show that infrequent episodes of large fires followed by long interludes with few fires led to naturally fluctuating landscapes, and that the best approach is not to try to change or control fire but to learn to live with it. In "Fire Ecology in Rocky Mountain Landscapes", Baker reviews functional traits and responses of plants and animals to fire at the landscape scale; explains how scientists reconstruct the history of fire in landscapes; elaborates on the particulars of fire under the historical range of variability in the Rockies; and, considers the role of Euro-Americans in creating the landscapes and fire situations of today. In the end, the author argues that the most effective action is to rapidly limit and redesign people-nature interfaces to withstand fire, which he believes can be done in ways that are immediately beneficial to both nature and communities.

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Book SynopsisThis title offers scientific and practical information on cork oak woodlands and the cultural systems dependent on them. Cork oak has historically been an important species in the western Mediterranean - ecologically as a canopy or 'framework' tree in natural woodlands, and culturally as an economically valuable resource that underpins local economies. Both the natural woodlands and the derived cultural systems are experiencing rapid change, and whether or not they are resilient enough to adapt to that change is an open question. "Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge" provides a synthesis of the most up-to-date, scientific, and practical information on the management of cork oak woodlands and the cultural systems that depend on cork oak. In addition, "Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge" offers ten site profiles written by local experts that present an in-depth vision of cork oak woodlands across a range of biophysical, historical, and cultural contexts, with sixteen pages of full-colour photos that illustrate the tree, agro-silvopastoral systems, products, resident biodiversity, and more. "Cork Oak Woodlands on the Edge" is an important book for anyone interested in the future of cork oak woodlands, or in the management of cultural landscapes and their associated land-use systems. In a changing world full of risks and surprises, it represents an excellent example of a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to studying, managing, and restoring an ecosystem, and will serve as a guide for other studies of this kind. Co-sponsored by the Society for Ecological Restoration International and Island Press, this series offers a foundation of practical knowledge and scientific insight that will help ecological restoration become the powerful reparative and healing tool that the world needs.

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Book SynopsisThis title presents the evolution of resilience theory in seminal papers and commentary. Ecological resilience provides a theoretical foundation for understanding how complex systems adapt to and recover from localized disturbances like hurricanes, fires, pest outbreaks, and floods, as well as large-scale perturbations such as climate change. Ecologists have developed resilience theory over the past three decades in an effort to explain surprising and nonlinear dynamics of complex adaptive systems. Resilience theory is especially important to environmental scientists for its role in underpinning adaptive management approaches to ecosystem and resource management. "Foundations of Ecological Resilience" is a collection of the most important articles on the subject of ecological resilience - those writings that have defined and developed basic concepts in the field and help explain its importance and meaning for scientists and researchers. The book's three sections cover articles that have shaped or defined the concepts and theories of resilience, including key papers that broke new conceptual ground and contributed novel ideas to the field; examples that demonstrate ecological resilience in a range of ecosystems; and, articles that present practical methods for understanding and managing nonlinear ecosystem dynamics. "Foundations of Ecological Resilience" is an important contribution to our collective understanding of resilience and an invaluable resource for students and scholars in ecology, wildlife ecology, conservation biology, sustainability, environmental science, public policy, and related fields.

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Book SynopsisThis title presents the evolution of resilience theory in seminal papers and commentary. Ecological resilience provides a theoretical foundation for understanding how complex systems adapt to and recover from localized disturbances like hurricanes, fires, pest outbreaks, and floods, as well as large-scale perturbations such as climate change. Ecologists have developed resilience theory over the past three decades in an effort to explain surprising and nonlinear dynamics of complex adaptive systems. Resilience theory is especially important to environmental scientists for its role in underpinning adaptive management approaches to ecosystem and resource management. "Foundations of Ecological Resilience" is a collection of the most important articles on the subject of ecological resilience - those writings that have defined and developed basic concepts in the field and help explain its importance and meaning for scientists and researchers. The book's three sections cover articles that have shaped or defined the concepts and theories of resilience, including key papers that broke new conceptual ground and contributed novel ideas to the field; examples that demonstrate ecological resilience in a range of ecosystems; and, articles that present practical methods for understanding and managing nonlinear ecosystem dynamics. "Foundations of Ecological Resilience" is an important contribution to our collective understanding of resilience and an invaluable resource for students and scholars in ecology, wildlife ecology, conservation biology, sustainability, environmental science, public policy, and related fields.

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Book SynopsisRobert J. Cabin explores the relationship between science and practice in ecological restoration. Despite the often distinct cultures and methodologies of scientists and practitioners, Cabin shows how each has a vital role in effective restoration and offers suggestions for improving working relationships. One approach he advocates is what he calls 'intelligent tinkering,' where practitioners employ the same kind of careful but informal trial-and-error strategy followed by such groups as indigenous peoples and hobbyist mechanics. Cabin illustrates the power of intelligent tinkering using examples from his own work and other restoration projects. The gap between science and practice is a widespread problem across all fields of applied science. "Intelligent Tinkering" offers an insightful look at the underlying causes of the problem, along with invaluable suggestions for addressing it.

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Book SynopsisEcology is the study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment, including the biotic and abiotic components. There are at least six kinds of ecology: ecosystem, physiological, behavioural, population, and community; specific topics include: Acid Deposition, Acid Rain Revisited, Biodiversity, Biocomplexity, Carbon Sequestration in Soils, Coral Reefs, Ecosystem Services, Environmental Justice, Fire Ecology, Floods, Global Climate Change, Hypoxia, and Invasion. This book presents new research on ecology from around the world.

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Book SynopsisThe environment is considered the surroundings in which an organism operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their interrelation. It is this environment which is both so valuable, on the one hand, and so endangered on the other. And it is people which are by and large ruining the environment both for themselves and for all other organisms. This book presents important new research spanning a broad spectrum of topics relevant to this field.

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Book SynopsisThe environment consists of the surroundings in which an organism operates, including air, water, land, natural resources, flora, fauna, humans and their interrelation. It is this environment which is both so valuable, on the one hand, and so endangered on the other. And it is people which are by and large ruining the environment both for themselves and for all other organisms. This book presents the latest analyses in the field.

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Book SynopsisHuman exploitation of stream and land ecosystems has created the need to preserve, restore and rehabilitate. This book discusses the scientific basis of restoration for ecological improvement and some key issues associated with overall projects. In addition, some of the challenges and opportunities for further research in river restoration science is explored and the associated fields of ecohydraulics and eco-hydromorphology. An analysis of the effects of river side-arm restoration on ecosystem functions is also included, as well as an experimental approach to assessing marsh restoration as compared to a strict monitoring process. The concept of combinatorial biodiversity auction is discussed in this book, showing that the combinatorial biodiversity auction can allow farmers to benefit from cost complementarities and help to maximise biodiversity outcomes within a given budget. Also included is a presentation of the need for restoration and rehabilitation projects developed according to an ecological theory considering species life history, habitat template and spatio-temporal scope, the bi-directional effect of self-renaturalisation processes on the environment and a study on how different river typologies may alter the evaluations of biological quality.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores policies that Congress is considering to reduce U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases. Prominent among these policies are those promoting the capture and direct sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) from man-made sources such as electric power plants and manufacturing facilities. Carbon capture and sequestration is of great interest because potentially large amounts of CO2 produced by the industrial burning of fossil fuels could be sequestered. Although they are still under development, carbon capture technologies may be able to remove up to 95% of CO2 emitted from an electric power plant or other industrial source. Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is a three-part process involving a CO2 source facility, a long-term CO2 sequestration site, and an intermediate mode of CO2 transportation - typically pipelines. The book consists of public documents which have been located, gathered, combined, reformatted, and enhanced with a subject index, selectively edited and bound to provide easy access.

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Book SynopsisBiogeography is the study of the geographic distribution of taxa and their attributes in space and time. Investigating biogeographic patterns and processes requires considerable amounts of data collected over large spatial and/or temporal scales. Evolutionary biogeography integrates distributional, phylogenetic, molecular and paleontological data in order to discover biogeographic patterns and assess the historical changes that have shaped them, following a step-wise approach. This book aims to understand the biogeography of the Drosophilidae in Africa and in other regions. This book also examines the development of preventive and educational components of conservation biogeography. The relevance of biogeographical evolutionary analyses for conservation science is discussed as well. In addition, the general methods that can be applied to prioritise areas for protection at regional global scales are also briefly commented on and exemplified with Mexico as a case study.

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Book SynopsisAgroforestry is an approach to alternative land use based on deliberate integration of trees with crops and livestock production systems. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems. Agroforestry can include various types of practices, including alley cropping, forest farming, shelterbelts (or timberbelts), riparian buffer strips, and silvopastoral systems. In arid and semi-arid environments, agroforestry systems potentially support livelihood improvement through simultaneous production of food, fodder and firewood without much affecting climate change. Careful selection of species and good management of trees and crops are needed to optimise the production and positive effects within the system and to minimise negative competitive effects. This book gathers the latest research from around the globe in the study of agroforestry and highlights such topics as traditional and modern agroforestry in Mediterranean regions, integration of native genetic resources in agroforestry, women agroforestry practices in refugee settlements, a discussion of the major obstacles that prevent increased agroforestry improvements, and the advantages and constrains of agroforestry systems establishment in various Brazilian biomes.

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Book SynopsisDesign professors detail a new ecodesign framework that integrates urban design with environmental conservation to make cities more desirable, low-carbon, transit-oriented communities. Jonathan Barnett and Larry Beasley seek to demonstrate that a sustainable built and natural environment can be achieved through ecodesign, which integrates the practice of planning and urban design with environmental conservation, through normal business practices and the kinds of capital programmes and regulations already in use in most communities. In six comprehensively illustrated chapters, the authors explain ecodesign concepts, including the importance of preserving and restoring natural systems while also adapting to climate change; minimizing congestion on highways and at airports by making development more compact, and by making it easier to walk, cycle, and take trains and mass transit; crafting and managing regulations to ensure better place making and fulfil consumer preferences while incentivizing preferred practices; creating an inviting and environmentally responsible public realm from parks to streets to forgotten spaces; and finally, how to implement these ecodesign concepts.

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Book SynopsisRiver management faces many challenges world-wide including climate change, flood risks and the demand for more adaptive and ''ecosystem-based'' systems. Instead of raising the dikes even higher, the new adage for river managers is to give the rivers more space to drain their waters. This in turn implies that river management will become a social business, with strong involvement of local communities. This book offers various examples and theories on how to avoid conflict and enter into fruitful relationships with river communities.

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Book SynopsisThe Amazon forest is one of the world''s most complex, unknown and threatened ecosystems that holds a considerable part of biodiverse species in different groups. This ecosystem needs greater scientific attention so that we can better understand the features of the fauna, flora and microbiota to conserve species before they disappear. Thus, this book addresses issues about resources of the largest rainforest of the world. Microbiota, fauna and flora are investigated differently, providing information of ecological interest, pharmaceutical and/or economic importance. Specialists and scientists that work in Amazonia can access new information about the species that inhabit this region with unprecedented advances on ecological and behavioral aspects of apple snails, meat yield and nutritive potential of crustacean species, tadpole knowledge, mitefaun in agroecosystems, pharmaceutical potential of plant species, computational models for flora cultivation, and reviews of microbiota composition of Amazonia. Scientists will acquire knowledge about aromatic plants from the Amazon and their applications, which include uses in perfumes, fragrances, cosmetics, phytopharmaceuticals, insecticides, fungicides, bactericides, larvicides and others. Regarding the microbiota of different Amazonian environments, the book is intended to present information about applications related to mycorrhizal fungi and endophytic microorganisms.

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Book SynopsisFrom antiquity until today, trees and woods have inspired artists, writers and scientists; they have shaped cultures and reverberated through belief systems. Yet worldwide forest cover has declined dramatically over the last 1,000 years. Now, primeval forests are only to be found at a few sites unreachable by humans, and even then they are affected by climate change, atmospheric pollution and species extinctions. Nonetheless, ancient woods, trees and forests are at the core of many global landscapes. Understanding the vital resources that they provide requires genuinely multidisciplinary research. With contributions from major authorities in the field such as Oliver Rackham, Frans Vera, Elisabeth Johann, George Peterken and Melvyn Jones among others, this timely volume reflects on the importance of our oldest trees from a range of perspectives and varied geographical locations. Individual chapters consider eco-cultural heritage, the archaeology of trees, landscape history, forest rights, tree management, saproxylic insects, the importance of deadwood, practical conservation and monitoring, biodiversity, wood-pasture and more. Fresh insights are provided from across Europe as far as Turkey. Given the urgent need to understand, conserve and restore ancient woodlands and trees, this book will do much raise awareness, foster enthusiasm and inspire wonder.Trade Review...an invaluable addition to woodland literature, putting the role of people firmly with the rest of woodland biodiversity. Reading this book will give new perspectives - and certainly allow the reader to see the woodland (sic) for the trees. -- Peter Bridgewater, The Niche...occasionally one comes across an extra special publication that puts all the others in the shade. This book is one such publication. It sets out to raise awareness, foster enthusiasm, inspiration and understanding of ancient trees and woodlands internationally, which it achieves brilliantly, but it does much more than that. It succeeds in shining new light through old windows and thus has created a significant milestone along the road in communicating the knowledge and understanding regarding ancient trees and woodlands. -- Alan Simson, Emeritus Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Forestry, Leeds Beckett UniversityThis important book makes an original contribution to debates about tree and woodland conservation. There is something here for everyone interested in landscape and woodland history and conservation. The book is very attractively produced, and the many colour illustrations, maps and photographs help the authors to strengthen their arguments. -- Charles Watkins, LandscapesThis richly illustrated and very attractively produced book offers an original perspective to forestry research and to the debate on the management and conservation of ancient woods, trees and forests... The combination of scientific rigour and generally clear and concise language and the widespread use of high-quality images will make it of interest for the general public and a valuable text for university classes. -- Pietro Piana, Environment and HistoryThis is a rich and useful collection, providing plenty of material for academics, woodland managers, and policy makers looking for an informed approach to ancient woods, trees and forests. -- Emily Sloan * Agricultural History Review *Table of Contents1. Ancient woodland in concept and practice George Peterken 2. The cultural heritage of woods and forests Ian D. Rotherham 3. Archaeology of trees, woodland and wood-pasture Oliver Rackham 4. Ancient rights in ancient forests Graham Bathe 5. The importance of an open-grown tree: from seed to ancient Ted Green 6. Ancient and other trees of special interest: indicators of old-growth biodiversity and heritage Jill Butler 7. Worked trees and ecological indicators in wooded landscapes Ian D. Rotherham 8. Ancient forests in Germany: distribution, importance for maintaining biodiversity, protection and threats Monika Wulf 9. Tree abundance, density and age structure: the key factors that determine species richness in saproxylic invertebrates Keith N.A. Alexander 10. Old growth and deadwood as key factors for nature conservation in managed forests Harald Schaich, Thomas A.M. Kaphegyi, Rudolf Lühl, Nicole Schmalfuß, Mattias Rupp, Thomas Waldenspuhl and Werner Konold 11. The diversity of ancient woodlands in Austria: historical developments and contemporary social importance Elisabeth Johann 12. Wood-pasture: for food, wood and biodiversity Frans Vera 13. The ancient woodland concept as a practical conservation tool: the Turkish experience Simay Kırca, Alper H. Çolak and Ian D. Rotherham 14. Using pollen data and models to assess landscape structure and the role of grazers in pre-agricultural Denmark Anne Brigitte Nielsen 15. Tanneries and treescapes: the influence of the tanning industry on woodland management Christine Handley and Ian D. Rotherham 16. A hidden treasure in Turkey: old oaks of unique value Nicklas Jansson, Ogün Ç. Türkay and Mustafa Avcı 17. Antiquity of ancient woodlands and cultures: the example of Sandras Mountain, Turkey Alper H. Çolak, Simay Kırca and Ian D. Rotherham 18. Woods and trees in England’s Anglo-Saxon countryside Della Hooke 19. Ancient and modern: the conservation of ancient woods and trees in a changing world Keith Kirby 20. Walls, woodbanks and woodwards: the protection of coppice woods from trespassers, thieves and grazing animals Melvyn Jones 21. The natural character of ancient woodland Tom Williamson 22. European woodland history and management: some concluding thoughts Ian D. Rotherham, Alper Çolak and Simay Kırca

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