Synopses & Reviews
From the leaves at the top of the canopy to the insects living deep beneath the soil, a forest is a complete, unified ecosystem. Each event, from the growth of a single sapling to a cataclysmic fire, is critical to the life of the forest as organism.
Veteran science writer Luoma here chronicles the work of a unique and fascinating scientific research project that, over the course of several decades, will bring together scientists from almost every discipline -- botanists, entomologists, wildlife ecologists, soil biologists, etc. -- to piece together the long-term natural history of a single forest ecosystem, in this case a majestic old-growth forest of the Pacific Northwest.
What emerges is a wealth of information that even now is pointing the way to a new approach to forest management, one that will allow for the cutting of trees for timber, while preserving the beauty and integrity of these proud woods.
About the Author
Jon R. Luoma (Smithville, NJ) is a contributing editor to The New York Science Times and Audubon, and the author of two previous books.