Ancient Forests of the Pacific Northwest / Edition 1

by Elliott A. Norse, Peter H. Raven, The Wilderness Society

Overview

Ancient Forests of the Pacific Northwest provides a global context for what is happening in the Pacific Northwest, analyzing the remaining ancient forest and the threats to it from atmospheric changes and logging. It shows how human tampering affects an ecosystem, and how the Pacific Northwest could become a model for sustainable forestry worldwide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781559630160
Publisher:	Island Press
Publication date:	12/01/1989
Series:	The Wiilderness Society
Edition description:	1
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Elliot A. Norse is a marine and forest conservation biologist. His Ph.D. and postdoctoral research in the 1970s examined the ecology of blue crabs (Callinectes spp.) in Jamaica, Curacao, Mexico, Panama, and Columbia. Since then, he has devoted his career to incorporating conservation biology into environmental decision making as a staff member or consultant for US federal agencies, international governmental organizations, scientific professional societies, conservation organizations, and foundations. His writings include more than 50 publications on environmental policy, conservation biology, marine ecology, forest ecology, and human-caused climatic change.

In 1986, as Public Policy Director of the Ecological Society of America, Elliot Norse worked with The Wilderness Society to write Conserving Biological Diversity in Our National Forests.

He is also the author of Ancient Forests of the Pacific Northwest (Island Press, 1989), Global Marine Biological Diversity: A Strategy For Building Conservation Into Decision Making (Island Press, 1993), and Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea's Biodiversity (Island Press, 2005).

Table of Contents

List of Contributed Essays
List of Photographs
Preface
Foreword
 
Chapter 1. Ancient Forests: Global Resource, Global Concern
-The Problem
-The Focus
-A Note to the Reader
 
Chapter 2. The Forests of the Pacific Northwest
-Biological Uniqueness
-Human Impacts: A Historical Perspective
 
Chapter 3. The Keys to Understanding
-Succession: Forest Birth and Rebirth
-Dead Trees: The Life of the Forest
-The Definition of Old-Growth
 
Chapter 4. The Biological Values of Ancient Forests, Part 1
-Biological Diversity
-Species Diversity
 
Chapter 5. The Biological Values of Ancient Forests, Part 2
-Genetic Diversity
-Ecosystem Diversity
-Scientific Research
-Tree Plantations and Ancient Forests
-Re-creating Ancient Forests
 
Chapter 6. Effects of Timber Operations
-Destruction, Fragmentation, and Simplification
-Phases of Timber Operations
-Cumulative Effects of Timber Operations
 
Chapter 7. External Threats to Ancient Forests
-Acidic Deposition and Tropospheric Ozone
-Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
-The Greenhouse Effect: Global Climatic Change
-Climatic Change and Ancient Forests
-Direct Carbon Dioxide Effects
-When Trends Collide: Timber Operations and External Threats
 
Chapter 8. Sustainable Forestry for the
-Pacific Northwest
-How Much Old-Growth Remains?
-Maintaining Our Options
-Prospects for Maintaining Nontimber Values
-The Two-Track Strategy for Sustainable Forestry
-Preserving Ancient Forests Is Not Enough
-Maintaining Biologocal Diversity in Managed Forests
-Attaining Environmental Maturity
 
Chapter 9. Conclusions and Recommendations
 
Glossary
Suggested Readings
Index

Editorial Reviews

YA-- South America is not the only contintent destroying its forests, as this book accurately points out. Beginning with a brief examination of virgin forests as a global issue, Norse then focuses on the last remaining U. S. ancient forests. He examines in depth the complexity of the forest biome from the largest, oldest Douglas fir to the tiniest microbe, including man's impact on this irreplacable resource. With balance and objectivity, he explains the effects of the timber industry on the ecosystem and urges that we study carefully the interdependency of all life affected by the forest, not with the intention of eliminating the logging interests, but of preserving and restoring the forest so that all its uses may be perpetuated. Students will find a wealth of factual information here. The only drawback is that the book is most effective if read cover to cover, so for researchers who are dabbling, it won't be as useful.-- Ellen Ramsay, Amphitheater High School, Tucson, AZ

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