Nature's Temples
eBook - ePub

Nature's Temples

A Natural History of Old-Growth Forests Revised and Expanded

  1. 240 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Nature's Temples

A Natural History of Old-Growth Forests Revised and Expanded

About this book

An impassioned case for the importance of ancient forests and their preservation

Standing in an old-growth forest, you can instinctively sense the ways it is different from forests shaped by humans. These ancient, undisturbed ecosystems are increasingly rare and largely misunderstood. Nature's Temples explores the science and alchemy of old-growth forests and makes a compelling case for their protection.

Many foresters are proponents of forest management, while ecologists and conservation biologists believe that the healthiest forests are those we leave alone. Joan Maloof brings together the scientific data we have about old-growth forests, drawing on diverse fields of study to explain the ecological differences among forests of various ages. She describes the life forms and relationships that make old-growth forests unique—from salamanders and micro-snails to plants that communicate through fungi—and reveals why human attempts to manage forests can never replicate nature's sublime handiwork. This revised and expanded edition also sheds new light on the special role forests play in removing carbon from the atmosphere and shares what we know about the interplay between wildfires and ancient forests.

With drawings by Andrew Joslin that illustrate scientific concepts and capture the remarkable beauty of ancient trees, Nature's Temples invites you to discover the power of these fragile realms that are so inextricably connected to our planet, our fellow species, and our spirits.

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Yes, you can access Nature's Temples by Joan Maloof in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Biological Sciences & Ecology. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. 1. What Is an Old-Growth Forest?
  9. 2. The History of Forests
  10. 3. The Oldest Trees
  11. 4. Birds in the Forest
  12. 5. Amphibians in the Forest
  13. 6. Snails in the Forest
  14. 7. Insects in the Forest
  15. 8. Herbaceous Plants in the Forest
  16. 9. Mosses in the Forest
  17. 10. Fungi in the Forest
  18. 11. Lichens in the Forest
  19. 12. Worms in the Forest
  20. 13. Mammals in the Forest
  21. 14. Humans and the Forest
  22. 15. Forests and Water
  23. 16. Forests and Carbon
  24. 17. Fire in the Forest
  25. 18. The Largest Trees
  26. Source Notes
  27. Index