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This new report provides a comprehensive, map-basedanalysis of the scale and pace of change affecting Indonesia's forestsand identifies the forces and actors that are drivingdeforestation. Forest Watch Indonesia and Global Forest Watch havecompiled the best available official data and reports fromenvironmentalists in the field to address the following questions: Howmuch of Indonesia's forest cover is left, and how much has been lostover the past 50 years? What is the condition of remaining forestcover today? What are the major driving forces behind deforestation,and who are the principal actors? Given current political and economicconditions in Indonesia, what are the prospects for forest policyreform?

The report's findings do not provide grounds for much optimism,despite clear signs of change in Indonesia. The major bilateral andmultilateral donors are now working actively with the IndonesianGovernment to develop a strategy and action plan for reform. TheIndonesian Ministry of Forestry is committed to implementing specificactions at the national level and has recently endorsed a wide-rangingregional plan to combat illegal logging. Yet, even if current policyreforms are successful, it is clear that Indonesia is in transitionfrom being a forest-rich country to a forest-poor country, followingthe path of the Philippines and Thailand. ... Read more

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Technological innovation can change the way we manage andprotect our forests and environment. It provides us with the tools weneed to get accurate and up-to-date information about forests, andother ecosystems, and it provides the means to make this informationavailable to all those with a stake in natural resources. Untilrecently, there was little systematic knowledge about the conditionsof the world's forests. Through this report our Canadian partners havedocumented that logging, mining, and other development that occursthroughout much of Canada's forests. The most diverse and productiveforest ecosystems have undergone widespread fragmentation by roads andother access routes and have the bulk of their area under loggingtenures. Canada is at a crossroads. Public sentiment and newgovernment policies indicate an increasing commitment to managingforests not just for timber, but also for wildlife, recreational uses,cultural values, and other ecosystem services. However, changes on theground have been slow. ... Read more

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In Europe, forest policy discussions are moving towards a European-Union-wide strategy. This will further strengthen the relations between the European countries in the field of forests and forest management. European-wide forest planning and decision-making require that policy-makers have insight in the long-term, development of European forests under alternative regimes. The European Forest Information Scenario Model (EFISCEN) was used to make projections of the development of the European forests under four different scenarios. This book addresses the consequences of each scenario for wood production, biodiversity and the environmental functions of the forest. The results provide policy-makers with a challenge of whether to intervene in the ongoing trend of build-up of growing stock and whether to choose between enhancing biodiversity, increasing the use of domestically produced wood products, or to combine them. ... Read more

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Gabon has vast forest resources, but rapid growth of logging activity may threaten those resources. This report reflects the work of seven Gabonese environmental organizations and presents peer-reviewed information on the logging industry in Gabon. ... Read more

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Part armchair travelogue, part guide book, this projected three-volume series--divided into the western, central, and eastern United States--will introduce readers to all 155 national forests across the country. This Land is the only comprehensive field guide that describes the natural features, wildernesses, scenic drives, campgrounds, and hiking trails of our national forests, many of which--while little known and sparsely visited--boast features as spectacular as those found in our national parks and monuments. Each entry includes logistical information about size and location, facilities, attractions, and associated wilderness areas. For about half of the forests, Robert H. Mohlenbrock has provided sidebars on the biological or geological highlights, drawn from the "This Land" column that he has written for Natural History magazine since 1984.
Superbly illustrated with color photographs, botanical drawings, and maps, this book is loaded with information, clearly written, and easy to use.
This volume covers national forests in: Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Book
This book about national forests was mailed in a timely fashion was in great shape for being second hand. Although I was hoping formore visual props in an attempt to plan a trip it is packed full of usefull information.

The only one.
This is the only guide to the national forests that I can tell. There are actually three in the series: Eastern, Central and Western Forests. Even the Forest Service doesn't publish one. There are many guides to the National Parks, but none on the just as vital National Forests. Great reference. ... Read more

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Volume Two of the two-volume set, Edible Forest Gardens, focuses all of its attention on effective design and practice. It organizes the ecological strategies from Volume One in a way that is accessible to gardeners and designers. It offers a unique 'pattern language' for forest garden design, and provides detailed advice for how to design, prepare the site for, plant, and maintain your forest garden. Volume Two also includes a unique Plant Species Matrix and several associated appendices which offer a wide-ranging catalog of the ecology, uses, and ecosystem functions of the best temperate-climate forest garden plants, and a few edible mushrooms, from around the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

In-Depth, Practical Permaculture
It's no surprise to learn that Dave and Eric worked for seven years to write the Edible Forest Gardens books; the depth and breadth of permaculture knowledge that they present is incredible. Although I've heard some say that these books are not an easy read, I've found them to be fascinating,enjoyable and indispensable.

I started my journey into permaculture with Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway, then decided to plant an edible forest in the back yard, so I purchased Volume 2 of Edible Forest Gardens, since it covers the practical consideration of forest gardening. Although this book is written so it can stand on its own, I also highly recommend volume 1, which focuses on the ecological vision and theory for temperate climate permaculture.

Highly recommended!

Permaculture, a must
Very nice for practical information. I hope to build a edible forest soon. I will see the results in some years.

A stupendous amount of relevant info under one cover
The more I use this book the more I realize how much is in here.There's not a time that I turn to the book for a specific piece of information and don't end up reading into other aspects that relate to the question at hand.The authors have chased down most any question to their logical, and integrated, extents.It's quite astounding that this much necessary and applicable information exists now under one cover.An essential reference for ecological land use. Many thanks to people dedicated enough to take the time and effort to share this much insight and information with the world at large.I am sure it will prove to be a crucial resource for survival many decades into the future. ... Read more

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A collection of stories about thirteen communities in the United States in their efforts to protect and restore community forests. It explores the struggles and opportunities faced by people as they work to invest in natural capital, reverse decades of poor forest practices, tackle policy gridlock, and address community as well as ecological health. ... Read more

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This book is a lively account of a community working to combat suburban sprawl and discover how to live responsibly on the land. A founder of the Land's Sake community farm in Weston, Massachusetts, Brian Donahue describes the joys and sorrows of farming in the suburbs. He calls for every community to protect its common land, establish community farms, and engage citizens with the land on which they live. ... Read more

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A must read!
Reclaiming the Commons is an excellent read for anyone interested in the natural history of New England, community farming, open space issues, and the value of farms in thelandscape. This is a well written, thoughtful book that offers an inspiring vision for a future of locally produced food, protected farmland, and community involvement that farms help to create.

A book that will inspire action
In Reclaiming the Commons, Brian Donahue has given us a remarkable portrait of a thriving community farm in Weston, Massachusetts called Land's Sake. In 1980 the nonprofit organization Land's Sake was formed inWeston, a suburb of Boston, to work closely with the town's ConservationCommission on managing and using the town's growing public land. Its threefounding principles were to care ecologically for Weston's land, to involvethe community and especially young people with the land, and to be asself-supporting as possible through the sale of products and services. Bythinking of the land as a rural space that could "benefit from ourpresence, rather than need to be protected from us," they opened thepossibility that they could engage suburban youth with the land and producehigh-quality natural products for local sale, offering ample educationaland recreational activities while striking "a balance betweenprotecting natural ecosystems and making sustainable, productive use of theland."

Land's Sake sends about one-fifth of their fresh organicproduce to Boston's homeless shelters and food pantries, as well assponsoring a Harvest for Hunger every September, thus ensuring that theirsurplus finds an assured wholesale market (the town pays the price to sendthe food to the inner city) which benefits the disadvantaged anddisenfranchised in the nearby urban areas. Donahue shows that suburbia"is the condition of residing outside the city proper with littlefunctional connection to one's neighbors, aside from the schools, andalmost no functional connection to the land," and he shows thatcommunity farms on common land offer a vibrant opportunity to keep farmlandfrom being lost to development, and to transform the suburban conditionfrom alienation to connection. This is a surprisingly powerful and excitingbook that will show suburban and city readers how to become more connectedto their land and to their source of food.

This is a fresh approach to sustainable suburban living.
This book,written by a newcomer in the environmental landscape, will become a landmark. It points the way to transform the suburban way of life into one that is sustainable.This it would do by converting suburban openspaces into community sanctuaries for agriculture,husbandry and forestry,administered by suburbanites themselves,especially by their youngsters.Thegreat strength of the proposals is that they have been demonstrated to workby the author and his associates in the upscale Boston suburb of Weston.Another plus is the grace and humor with whichthe book is blessed.

OUTSTANDING! Pointed, engaging, inspiring, and well-written.
OUTSTANDING!Very impressive!Pointed, engaging, and inspiring from the get-go.Andextraordinarily well-written -- my innate and involuntary tendency tomentally edit anything I'm reading was off in another countysomeplace. ... Read more

Product Description
Oak Forest Ecosystems focuses on the relationship between an oakforest's acorn yield and species of wildlife that depend on it. It begins by treating factors such asoak distribution, forest fires, tree diseases and pests, dynamics of acorn production, and acorndispersal by birds and mammals. Special consideration is given to the phenomenon ofmasting—whereby oaks in a given area will produce huge crops of acorns at irregular intervals—akey component for wildlife researchers and managers in understanding patterns of scarcity andabundance in the creatures that feed on this crop. Relationships between oaks and animals suchas mice, squirrels, turkeys, deer, and bear are discussed, as are the differences between eastern,southern Appalachian, southwestern, and California oak forests.

Contributors: Marc D. Abrams, Pennsylvania State University • Patrick H. Brose, U.S.Department of Agriculture Forest Service • John P. Buonaccorsi, University of Massachusetts •Daniel Dey, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service• Joseph S. Elkinton, University ofMassachusetts • George A. Feldhamer, Southern Illinois University • Peter F. Folliott,University of Arizona • Lee E. Frelich, University of Minnesota • Cathryn H. Greenberg, U.S.Department of Agriculture Forest Service • William M. Healy, U.S. Department of AgricultureForest Service • Roy L. Kirkpatrick, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University •Johannes M. H. Knops, University of Nebraska • Walter D. Koenig, University of California •Nelson W. Lafon, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries • Andrew M. Liebhold,U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service • William J. McShea, National Zoological ParkConservation and Research Center • William H. McWilliams, U.S. Department of AgricultureForest Service • Gary W. Norman, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries • StevenW. Oak, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service • Renee A. O'Brien, U.S. Department ofAgriculture Forest Service • Richard S. Ostfeld, Institute of Ecosystem Studies • Bernard R.Parresol, U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service • Peter J. Perkins, University of NewHampshire • Gordon C. Reese, Colorado State University • Peter B. Reich, University ofMinnesota • Peter D. Smallwood, University of Richmond • Christopher C. Smith, Kansas StateUniversity • Richard B. Standiford, University of California–Berkeley • Martin A. Stapanian,Ohio Cooperative Wildlife Unit • Michael A. Steele, Wilkes University • David Steffen,Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries • David H. Van Lear, Clemson University •Michael R. Vaughan, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University • Karen L. Waddell,U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Technically Excellent
The book provides great insights to the interactions within the Oak Forest Ecosystem. The book is designed more for the practicing ecologist, forester or biologist and may be a bit tough to digest if you haven't taken Population Statistics classes.All and all a good read and a bit of an eye-opener for some of us "specie-ists." ... Read more

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Central Amazonian floodplain forests are an unique and endangered ecosystem. The forests grow in areas that are annually flooded by large rivers during mean periods of up to 8 months and at depths of up to 10 m. Despite this severe stress, these forests consist of over 1,000 species and are by far the most species-rich floodplain forests worldwide. The trees show a broad range of morphological, anatomical, physiological, and phenological adaptations that enable them not only to survive the adverse environmental conditions, but also to produce large amounts of biomass when the nutrient levels in water and soils are sufficiently high. This is the case in the floodplains of white-water rivers, which are used for fisheries, agriculture, and cattle-ranching but which also have a high potential for the production of timber and non-timber products, when adequately managed. Latest research on ecophysiology gives insight how tree species adapt to the oscillating flood-pulse focusing on their photosynthesis, respiration, sap flow, biochemistry, phenology, wood and leave anatomy, root morphology and functioning, fruit chemistry, seed germination, seedling establishment, nitrogen fixation and genetic variability. Based on tree ages, lifetime growth rates and net primary production, new concepts are developed to improve the sustainability of traditional forest managements in the background of an integrated natural resource management. This is the first integrative book on the functioning and ecologically oriented use of floodplain forests in the tropics and sub-tropics.It provides fundamental knowledge for scientist, students, foresters and other professionals on their distribution, evolution and phytogeography. “This book is an excellent testimony to the interdisciplinary collaboration of a group of very dedicated scientists to unravel the functioning of the Amazonian Floodplain forests. They have brought together a highly valuable contribution on the distribution, ecology, primary production, ecophysiology, typology, biodiversity, and human use of these forests offering recommendations for sustainable management and future projects in science and development of these unique wetland ecosystems. It lays a solid scientific foundation for wetland ecologists, foresters, environmentalists, wetland managers, and all those interested in sustainable management in the tropics and subtropics.” Brij Gopal, Executive Vice President International Society for Limnology (SIL). ... Read more

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Many mushrooms—or the "fruits of fungi"—are extremely valuable, wild-gathered products which are utilized for both their medicinal properties and as food. In many of the world's tropical and temperate forests, they are the primary source of income for the people who live there.

These forests range from temperate woodlands and small forests to high altitude forests in the Himalaya and tropical miombo woodlands in south-central Africa. In south-west China, over 200 species of wild fungi in 64 genera are commercially traded while in Europe and North America, woodlands and small forests are the source of many highly-prized mushrooms and an essential resource for many small enterprises and collectors. Yet the increased demand for timber has resulted in the rapid expansion of forestry, which in turn has destroyed the natural habitat of many fungi, unbalancing both forest economics and ecology.

Despite the economic, social and cultural values of fungi, there is a general lack of understanding of their importance to local livelihoods and forest ecology. This book fills this gap and extends the People and Plants Conservation Series beyond the plant kingdom into the related world of fungi and mushrooms. It demonstrates the crucial roles that fungi play in maintaining forest ecosystems and the livelihoods of rural people throughout the world while providing good practice guidelines for the sustainable management of this resource and an assessment of economic value. It brings together the perspectives of biologists, anthropologists and forest and woodland managers to provide a unique inter-disciplinary and international overview of the key issues. ... Read more

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Discusses the ecology of rain forests, the problem posed by the present danger to rain forests, and possibilities for the future. ... Read more

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This book covers the full breadth of forest entomology. Itcombines the work of forest entomologists working on the impact andmanagement of forest pests with those involved in diversity assessmentand conservation of insects in forests. Forests and Insectsdemonstrates that both these disciplines demand an understanding ofpopulation and community biology. The book covers such topics as colonization of trees by insects,population dynamics of forest insects, insect natural enemies, theeffects of climate change and pollution on forest pests, spatialvariation in the abundance of insects,the mineralization of carbon bytermites, the impact of herbivorous insects, and the conservation offorest insect diversity, including the effects of forest fragmentationand deforestation. This Royal Entomological Society Symposium volume will be of greatinterest to all agricultural and forest entomologists, population andcommunity biologists, pest management specialists and anyone concernedwith the conservation of forest biodiversity. ... Read more

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Over the century, forest management has evolved from a field dominated by the "conservationist" perspective--with humans exploiting natural resources--to one that emphasizes biocentrism, in which forests are seen as dynamic ecosystems.Yet despite this progressive shift, the assault on our forests continues through overgrazing of rangelands, lumbering, eroding mountainsides, fire suppression, and threats to the habitats of endangered species.Forests under Fire takes a closer look at the people calling the shots in our national forests, from advocates of timber harvesting to champions of ecosystem management, and calls for a reassessment of our priorities--before our forests are gone. ... Read more

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This book brings together a selection of original research articles that address biodiversity and conservation in plantation forests. Although such forests are perhaps the ‘poor cousins’ of the species richer natural and semi-natural forests, they can still make a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation. This is particularly the case in regions that have lost much of their natural forest cover. Comparatively few studies have previously attempted to examine the biota associated with plantation forests and, as a result, some conservation needs and opportunities highlighted here have not been adequately recognised. Conversely, plantations have sometimes been a direct cause of natural habitat loss, and greater awareness is required to avoid this with future afforestation projects. The contributions in this volume provide new information about a wide range of taxa from lichens to primates, from various temperate and tropical regions around the world, in the context of plantation forestry, combined with suggestions for forest management at both stand and landscape levels, to improve biodiversity conservation. The findings are equally of interest to the scientific community, policy makers and forest managers. The topical examples of applied conservation issues will make the volume also highly valuable for use in conservation biology courses. Reprinted from Biodiversity and Conservation, volume 17 No. 5 (2008).

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A superb extended case study of the development of the Forest Stewardship Council's British Columbia forestry certification standard. This book's multi-level, interdisciplinary comparative analysis yields a rich set of insights that challenge many conventional regulatory paradigms.- Michael Trebilcock, Chair in Law and Economics, University of Toronto and co-author of The Regulation of International Trade, Third Edition ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Calling all researchers & academics: a political science must
This book is an in-depth analysis of the early development of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards for forest management in the province of British Columbia, Canada.

This may seem like a dry topic, but for those of us who have been watching the development of democracy outside the traditional confines of the nation-state for the past two decades, the FSC provides a fascinating insight into how to 'do' democracy when governments are not in charge.

The FSC was founded in 1993, and is historically commensurate with, but separate from, the unsuccessful Rio Earth Summit negotiations in 1992 to develop a forest convention to tackle deforestation. NGOs had been trying unsuccessfully to work through a number of intergovernmental processes to halt the logging of tropical forests throughout the 1980s, including the International Tropical Timber Organisation, or ITTO. Conservationists tried unsuccessfuly to lobby the ITTO to support their idea for attaching an eco-label to sustainably managed timber, and thus give 'good wood' some advantage in the market. When the ITTO rejected the idea out of hand, NGOs got together with some sympathetic forest industry partners, and developed the FSC. The FSC is an international organisation consisting of social, environmental and economic interests, who co-operate to develop standards for the certification of forest management and timber trading world wide.

Tollesfon, Gale and Haley trace the history of the development of FSC forest management standards in British Columbia, a region reviled by environmentalists through the 'eightites for its unsustainable logging of forests, particularly the coastal temperate rainforests of Vancouver Island. After a series of worldwide consumer campaigns to stop the timber trade, some companies commenced negotiations with NGOs to develop standards, which would make their forest management acceptable under the scheme.

It is the process of negotiation that the authors look at in some detail, as for them, the way standards are negotiated in the FSC constitute a form of what they refer to as "global democratic corporatism". Given that FSC is not a government process, the traditional democratic safeguards for decision making, that would normally render decisions acceptable to citizens like parliaments, and free and fair elections, have had to be replaced by other mechanisms. Consequently, the FSC functions at a global level through a "General Assembly" (like the UN), and domestically through "national initiatives". The way the system is governed is by means of three chambers (environmental, economic and social), who internally debate whole-of-sector positions, and then negotiate these with the other chambers. This results in a very 'deep' form of democracy, largely built around dialogue, and characterised by high levels of consensus.

In British Columbia, the negotiation of standards was a long process, commencing in 1996 and not finishing until 2005, but by the end, the forests one of Canada's largest forest companies, Tembec, were certified as "well managed". Bringing environmentalists, loggers, First Nations and other 'stakeholders' together was at times a very fraught process, but considering that FSC succeeded in developing a level of agreement amongst previously conflicting parties, where governments had failed to do so, is a testament to the governance of the FSC.

Tollefson Gale and Haley forensic analysis should help other businesses, environmental groups, social interests, and governments, learn the lesson of how to do democracy in this era of sustainable development.

Tim Cadman BA (Hons) MA (Cantab) PhD (UTas) is a graduate of Girton College Cambridge and a post-doctoral fellow in the Centre for Sustainable Business Development in the Faculty of Business at the University of Southern Queensland.
... Read more