The power of trees : how ancient forests can save us if we let them /
Material type: TextLanguage: English Original language: German Publisher: Vancouver ; Berkeley ; London : David Suzuki Institute : Greystone Books, 2023Description: 271 pages ; 23 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 1771647744
- 9781771647748
- Lange Atem der Baume. English
- 577.3 WOHLLEBÂ 23
- cci1icc
Item type | Current library | Home library | Collection | Call number | Copy number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Loan | Coeur d'Alene Library Adult Nonfiction | Coeur d'Alene Library | Book | 577.3 WOHLLEB (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Checked out | 05/07/2024 | 50610024078318 | ||
Standard Loan | Liberty Lake Library Adult Nonfiction | Liberty Lake Library | Book | 577.3 WOH (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Checked out | 05/14/2024 | 31421000729351 | |||
Standard Loan | Metalines Community Library Adult Nonfiction | Metalines Community Library | Book | 577.3 WOHLLEB (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 50610023000230 | ||||
Standard Loan | Pinehurst Library Adult Nonfiction | Pinehurst Library | Book | 577.3/WOHLLEB (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610024134368 | |||
Standard Loan | Spirit Lake Library Adult Nonfiction | Spirit Lake Library | Book | 577.3/WOHLLEB (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | 1 | Available | 50610024134426 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"Another love letter from Wohlleben to the green world... makes the case for how we should allow forests throughout the world to regrow and in the process help heal not only the climate but us, as well."--Lydia Millet, Oprah Daily
An illuminating manifesto on ancient forests: how they adapt to climate change by passing their wisdom through generations, and why our future lies in protecting them.
In his beloved book The Hidden Life of Trees , Peter Wohlleben revealed astonishing discoveries about the social networks of trees and how they communicate. Now, in The Power of Trees , he turns to their future, with a searing critique of forestry management, tree planting, and the exploitation of old growth forests.
As human-caused climate change devastates the planet, forests play a critical role in keeping it habitable. While politicians and business leaders would have us believe that cutting down forests can be offset by mass tree planting, Wohlleben offers a warning: many tree planting campaigns lead to ecological disaster. Not only are these trees more susceptible to disease, flooding, fires, and landslides, we need to understand that forests are more than simply a collection of trees. Instead, they are ecosystems that consist of thousands of species, from animals to fungi and bacteria. The way to save trees, and ourselves? Step aside and let forests--which are naturally better equipped to face environmental challenges--heal themselves.
With the warmth and wonder familiar to readers from his previous books, Wohlleben also shares emerging scientific research about how forests shape climates both locally and across continents; that trees adapt to changing environmental conditions through passing knowledge down to their offspring; and how old growth may in fact have the most survival strategies for climate change.
At the heart of The Power of Trees lies Wohlleben's passionate plea: that our survival is dependent on trusting ancient forests, and allowing them to thrive.
Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute.
Translation of: Der lange Atem der Baume.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
"From the international bestselling author of The Hidden Life of Trees. An illuminating manifesto on ancient forests: how they adapt to climate change by passing their wisdom through generations, and why our future lies in protecting them. In his beloved book The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben revealed astonishing discoveries about the social networks of trees and how they communicate. Now, in The Power of Trees, he turns to their future, with a searing critique of forestry management, tree planting, and the exploitation of old growth forests. As human-caused climate change devastates the planet, forests play a critical role in keeping it habitable. While politicians and business leaders would have us believe that cutting down forests can be offset by mass tree planting, Wohlleben offers a warning: many tree planting campaigns lead to ecological disaster. Not only are these trees more susceptible to disease, flooding, fires, and landslides, we need to understand that forests are more than simply a collection of trees. Instead, they are ecosystems that consist of thousands of species, from animals to fungi and bacteria. The way to save trees, and ourselves? Step aside and let forests--which are naturally better equipped to face environmental challenges--heal themselves. With the warmth and wonder familiar to readers from his previous books, Wohlleben also shares emerging scientific research about how forests shape climates both locally and across continents; that trees adapt to changing environmental conditions through passing knowledge down to their offspring; and how old growth may in fact have the most survival strategies for climate change. At the heart of The Power of Trees lies Wohlleben's passionate plea: that our survival is dependent on trusting ancient forests, and allowing them to thrive."--
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- Introduction (1)
- Part I The Wisdom of Trees
- 1 When Trees Make Mistakes (7)
- 2 A Thousand Years of Learning (21)
- 3 Seeds of Wisdom (34)
- 4 Filling Up in Winter (40)
- 5 Red Flags for Aphids (47)
- 6 Early Risers and Late Sleepers (56)
- 7 Forest Air-Conditioning (59)
- 8 When Rain Falls in China (65)
- 9 Take Care and Stand Back (72)
- 10 Underrated All-Rounders (78)
- Part II When Forestry Fails
- 11 Backed Up Against a Wall (89)
- 12 Butchery in the Beech Forest (93)
- 13 Germany's Search for the Supertree (97)
- 14 Good Intentions, Poor Outcomes (110)
- 15 The New Bark Beetle? (122)
- 16 Wolves as Climate Guardians (133)
- 17 Is Wood as Eco-Friendly as We Think? (138)
- 18 It's Time to Pay Up (149)
- 19 The Toilet Paper Argument (155)
- 20 More Money, Less Forest (162)
- 21 The Ivory Tower Wobbles (172)
- 22 What's on Your Plate? (183)
- Part III Forests of the Future
- 23 Every Tree Counts (197)
- 24 Does Everyone Have to Be On Board? (206)
- 25 A Breath of Fresh Air (214)
- 26 The Forest Will Return (221)
- Afterword: Accepting Ignorance and Treading Carefully in the Forest (235)
- Acknowledgments (245)
- Notes (246)
- Index (262)
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
Forester Wohlleben (The Heartbeat of Trees) offers a pointed critique of harmful forestry practices and urges humans to let trees heal themselves. Excoriating government bureaucrats in his native Germany for their misguided attempts to help struggling forests, he describes how state-approved initiatives to introduce nonnative tree species better suited to warming temperatures than indigenous varieties have wreaked havoc on those ecosystems and devastated local animal and insect populations. Instead, Wohlleben suggests it's usually best "to step aside and allow natural reforestation to take its course," excepting for such instances as planting on former farmland "where there are no old trees nearby that could seed themselves." As evidence, the author highlights trees' remarkable capacity for adaptation and observes how, near his forest academy in west Germany, trees on south-facing slopes fared better during a 2020 drought than those on north-facing slopes because the former had "learned to ration water" from enduring longer, hotter periods of direct sunlight. The criticism of German forestry practices will be of limited interest to U.S. audiences, but the insights into trees' surprising abilities captivates (Wohlleben contends that pedunculate and sessile oaks, once thought to be distinct, are likely a single species capable of changing the appearance of its leaves depending on the climate). Nature lovers should take note. (May)Booklist Review
Forester and bestselling environmental writer Wohlleben (Forest Walking, 2022) draws largely on observations of his home territory in Germany in this thoughtful look at how trees learn and adapt to difficult climate circumstances. As he explains, trees do not "stand there and suffer," enduring the effects of global warming as "creatures rooted in their environments." Instead, they react to the conditions that affect them. Ranging through a variety of tree species, he chronicles what that adaptability looks like and how much the luxury of time is needed for success. Readers will see the lesson here. Giving the environment the chance it needs to heal is crucial. The problem, as Wohlleben makes clear in chapters highlighting things like the pandemic frenzy for toilet paper and the global appetite for beef, is that the forest is often the last recipient of humanity's benevolence. The author is in his element here as a gentle purveyor of knowledge that provides a new perspective on a crucially important topic. His many fans will be enthused, and new readers will appreciate entering Wohlleben's evocative world.Kirkus Book Review
The author of The Hidden Life of Trees returns with a book that shows how trees help each other and us. A highly experienced German forest manager with keen insight, Wohlleben persuasively describes the beauty, complexity, and resilience of natural forests versus the planted monospecies "plantations" dominating Germany's arboreal landscapes. Illustrating for lay readers the work of Suzanne Simard, the pioneering ecologist who demonstrated the remarkable ability of trees to communicate via networks of roots and fungi, Wohlleben shows us how trees thrive in diverse, untamed communities--and how vulnerable they become when isolated from other trees. "Trees…are not life-forms that stand there and suffer as human activity changes the global climate," he writes. "Rather, they are creatures rooted in their environments that react when conditions threaten to get out of control." The author is less persuasive in his claim forests cannot be "managed" to thrive while being culled for considerable amounts of wood (the most sustainable large-scale building material, as it can sequester carbon while steel and concrete emit it). Wohlleben contends that it is "impossible to extract raw materials in a way that benefits nature"; that German forest-industry politics would get in the way even if it were possible; that wood doesn't last long, anyway. However, his sourcing is thin, as it has occasionally been in earlier books. Many agree with Wohlleben that trees are a key weapon in the war against climate change, but many also contend that wood can be safely drafted into the war--that humans, like trees, can collaborate with nature. Good introductory reading for those interested in the role of trees--and wood--in climate change. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Author notes provided by Syndetics
Peter Wohlleben is the author of several books about the natural world, including The Hidden Life of Trees, The Inner Life of Animals, and The Heartbeat of Trees. His books for children include Can You Hear the Trees Talking?, Do You Know Where the Animals Live?, and Peter and the Tree Children. A longtime former forester, Wohlleben runs a forest academy in Germany that supports sustainable forest management and teaches adults and children about the many wonders of the forest. To learn more about Peter and his books, visit his website at peterwohllebenbooks.com.
Jane Billinghurst is a nature lover, master gardener, editor, translator, and author of six books. She has translated and edited several books by Peter Wohlleben, including the New York Times bestseller The Hidden Life of Trees. She lives in Anacortes, Washington, next to 2,800 acres of community forest lands.
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