Synopses & Reviews
While tropical rainforests have received much conservation attention and support for their protection, temperate and boreal rainforests have been largely overlooked. Yet these ecosystems are also unique, supporting rainforest communities rich in plants and wildlife and containing some of the most massive trees on Earth.
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Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World brings together leading scientists from around the world to describe the ecology and conservation of these lesser-known rainforests in an attempt to place them on par with tropical rainforests in conservation efforts. The book
- summarizes major scientific findings
- presents new computer models that were used to standardize rainforest definitions
- identifies regions previously not widely recognized as rainforest
- provides the latest estimates on rainforest extent and degree of protection
- explores conservation strategies
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The book ends with a summary of the key ecological findings and outlines an ambitious vision of how we can conserve and manage the planet's remaining temperate and boreal rainforests in a truly ecological way that is better for nature, the climate, and ultimately our own welfare.
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Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World is a call to action for an accord to protect the world's rainforests. It offers a global vision rooted in ecological science but written in common language useful for governments, decision makers, and conservation groups concerned about the plight of these remarkable forests.
Review
"
Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World is a groundbreaking book, the first comprehensive treatise with contributions from over thirty of the world's top scientists. It is a well-organized, clearly written account of these unique, rapidly disappearing forests and an inspiring global call to action to protect these forests before they disappear."
Review
"While the deforestation of tropical rainforests is seen as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, the impact of cool-weather rainforests tends to be overlooked when addressing climate change, a panel of scientists said. These forgotten rainforests store more carbon per acre than tropical rainforests, the scientists said in Washington Wednesday while introducing
Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World: Ecology and Conservation. [...] The great temperate rainforests of many other countries are long gone, said Paul Alaback, professor emeritus of Forest Ecology at the University of Montana and one of the books co-authors. The U.S. has some of the most significant remaining temperate rainforests on federal lands in the world and has the responsibility to move swiftly to protect them."
--University of Wisconsin, and chief emeritus, U.S. Forest Service
Review
"To most people, the term 'rainforest' conjures up images of places like the Amazon or Congo. But there are rainforests in the world's temperate and boreal regions, too, and this book provides a unique and valuable overview of the ecology and conservation status of these underappreciated and imperiled forests."
David S. Wilcove
Review
"Eloquently written, this valuable compedium should be enjoyed and pondered by a diverse audience ranging from students to policy makers."
Review
"... For any community or college collection focusing on the environment and ecology of forests,
Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World is an absolute must."
Review
"What this book does so well is to describe these precious forests carefully and diligently while not ignoring the threats they face. Often we are confronted with either dull botany or a polemic about deforestation, here we are offered balance and the contributors and publishers are to be congratulated."
Review
"The book certainly functions as an excellent reference for conservationists and ecologists around the world interested in the world's temperate and boreal rainforests and could be used as a textbook in university classes...Overall, this is a well-organized, very readable book on the plight of the earth's temperate and boreal rainforests...It offers hope that these forests can be saved, if not in their original form, at least in some modified form...This volume should be of great value to ecologists, conservationists, forest managers, policymakers, academics, students, and concerned citizens."
Review
Named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2011 Robert L. Edmonds, School of Forest Resources, University of Washington - Ecology
Review
"
Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World is the first book to bring together leading scientists to describe the ecology and conservation of these lesser-known rainforests in an attempt to place them on par with tropical rainforests in conservation efforts, including those of both the Pacific Coast and inland Northwestern North America, and the Prehumid Boreal and Hemiboreal Forests of Eastern Canada. Written in common language, it offers a global vision rooted in ecological science for all who are concerned about the plight of these remarkable forests."
Review
"[T]his is the first book to examine such forests at the global level and it does a good job." Forest Management
Synopsis
Temperate rainforests are biogeographically unique. Compared to their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are rarer and are found disproportionately along coastlines. Because most temperate rainforests are marked by the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems, these rich ecotones are among the most productive regions on Earth. Globally, temperate rainforests store vast amounts of carbon, provide habitat for scores of rare and endemic species with ancient affinities, and sustain complex food-web dynamics.and#160;In spite of their global significance, however, protection levels for these ecosystems are far too low to sustain temperate rainforests under a rapidly changing global climate and ever expanding human footprint.and#160;Therefore, a global synthesis is needed to provide the latest ecological science and call attention to the conservation needs of temperate and boreal rainforests.and#160;and#160;A concerted effort to internationalize the plight of the worldand#8217;s temperate andand#160;boreal rainforests is underway around the globe; this book offers an essential (and heretofore missing) tool for that effort. DellaSala and his contributors tell a compelling story of the importance of temperate and boreal rainforests that includes some surprises (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Russia).and#160; This volume provides a comprehensive reference from which to build a collective vision of their future.
About the Author
Dominick A. DellaSala is chief scientist and president of the Geos Institute in Ashland, Oregon, and president of the North American section of the Society for Conservation Biology.
Table of Contents
Foreword \ David Suzuki
Preface \ Dominick A. DellaSala
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Chapter 1. Just What Are Temperate and Boreal Rainforests? \and#160;Dominick A. DellaSala, Paul Alaback, Toby Spribille, and Henrik von Wehrden
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Chapter 2. Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the Pacific Coast of North America \and#160;Dominick A. DellaSala, Faisal Moola, Paul Alaback, Paul C. Paquet, John W. Schoen, and Reed Noss
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Chapter 3. Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of Inland Northwestern North America \and#160;Dominick A. DellaSala, Paul Alaback, Lance Craighead, Trevor Goward, Paul Paquet, and Toby Spribille
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Chapter 4. Perhumid Boreal and Hemiboreal Forests of Eastern Canada \and#160;Stephen R. Clayden, Robert P. Cameron, and John W. McCarthy
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Chapter 5. Valdivian Temperate Rainforest of Chile and Argentina \and#160;David Tecklin, Dominick A. DellaSala, Federico Luebert, and Patricio Pliscoff
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Chapter 6. Temperate and Boreal Rainforest Relicts of Europe \ Dominick A. DellaSala, Paul Alaback, Anton Drescher, Hand#229;kon Holien, Toby Spribille, and Katrin Ronnenberg
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Chapter 7. Temperate Rainforests of Japan \and#160;Yukito Nakamura, Dominick A. DellaSala, and Paul Alaback
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Chapter 8. Temperate Rainforests of Australasia \ Jamie B. Kirkpatrick and Dominick A. DellaSala
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Chapter 9. Rainforests at the Margins: Regional Profiles \and#160;Dominick A. DellaSala
-Regional Profile: Colchic and Hyrcanic Temperate Rainforests of the Western Eurasian Caucasus \and#160;George Nakhutsrishvili, Nugzar Zazanashvili, and Ketevan Batsatsashvili
- Regional Profile: Humidity-Dependent Forests of the Russian Far East, Inland Southern Siberia, and Eastern Side of the Korean Peninsula \and#160;Pavel V. Krestov, Dina I. Nazimova, Nikolai V. Stepanov, and Dominick A. DellaSala
- Regional Profile: Knysna-Tsitsikamma Temperate Rainforests of South Africa \and#160;Paul E. Hosten and Jeannine M. Rossa
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Chapter 10. Crosscutting Issues and Conservation Strategies \and#160;Dominick A. DellaSala, Paul Alaback, Lance Craighead, Trevor Goward, Holien Hand#229;kon, Jamie Kirkpatrick, Pavel Krestov, Faisal Moola, Yukito Nakamura, Richard S. Nauman, Reed F. Noss, Paul Paquet, Katrin Ronneberg, Toby Spribille, David Tecklin, and Henrik von Wehrden
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Chapter 11. A Global Strategy for Rainforests in the Era of Climate Change \ John Fitzgerald, Dominick A. DellaSala, Jeff McNeely, and Ed Grumbine
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Contributors Index