| Description |
1 online resource (xii, 155 pages) : illustrations, maps |
| Contents |
1. Origin of the Evergreen Forests ; Conifers and the Ice Age ; The Advantages of Being Evergreen ; The Advantages of Long-Lived Leaves ; Enduring the Cold -- 2. Identifying the Conifers ; How Plants (Including Trees) Are Classified ; The Ten Genera ; The Thirty-Two Species ; Conifer Families -- 3. Reproduction of Conifers ; Pollen Cones and Pollen ; Pollination ; A Contrast between Seed Cones and Pollen Cones ; Vegetative Reproduction -- 4. The Life and Growth of a Conifer ; Wood ; Cut Stumps and Whole Trees ; Outside the Cambium ; Leaves ; Roots -- 5. Broadleafs Growing among the Conifers ; Broadleafs in a Harsh Climate ; Poplars ; Birches ; Alders -- 6. Two Kinds of Trees: Conifers and Broadleafs ; The Ancestry of "Trees" ; The Basic Difference between Conifers and Broadleafs ; Gymnosperms Are Woody ; The Speed of Living ; The Architecture of Trees ; Vegetative Reproduction ; The Aroma of Conifers -- 7. Life on the Forest Floor ; The Soil ; Forest Flowers ; The Floor of the Boreal Forest ; Valuable Dead Wood and Debris ; Open Water -- 8. Parasites on the Conifers ; The Value of Rot and Decay ; Decay Fungi ; Rusts ; Dwarf Mistletoe -- 9. Insects and Conifers ; Insects as Feeders ; Beetles ; Caterpillars and Pseudocaterpillars ; Sawflies ; Bugs ; Parasitoids ; Ants and Others -- 10. Some Mammals and Birds of the Forest ; Food and Shelter ; Seldom Seen Mammals ; Squirrels and Their Relatives ; A Rodent and a Lagomorph ; Big Herbivores ; Carnivores ; Big Omnivores ; Birds -- 11. Natural and Unnatural Interference ; Fire ; Forest Succession ; Snow and Wind ; Air Pollution and Acid Rain ; Logging -- 12. The Big Picture ; Forest Regions ; What Controls Which Species Grow Where -- 13. Global Warming and the Forests ; The Physics of Climate Change ; How Will Climate Change Affect the Forests ; Fire and the Forests ; Insects, Lightning, Wind, and Snow (Again) ; The Value (If Any) of Predictions |
| Summary |
"Global warming and human-driven impacts from logging, natural gas drilling, mining of oil sands, and the development of hydropower increasingly threaten North America's northern forests. These forests are far from being a uniform environment; close inspection reveals that the conifers that thrive there - pines, larches, spruces, hemlocks, firs, Douglas-firs, arborvitaes, false-cypresses, junipers, and yews - support a varied and complex ecosystem. In The World of Northern Evergreens, the noted ecologist E.C. Pielou introduces the biology of the northern forests and provides a unique invitation to naturalists, ecologists, foresters, and everyone living in northern North America who wants to learn about this unique and threatened northern world and the species that make it their home |
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The second edition, enriched by new illustrations by the author of woodland features and creatures, updates the text to include new topics including mycorrhizal fungi, soil, woodlice, bats, and invasive insects such as the hemlock woolly adelgid. Emphasis is given to the very real human-driven impacts that threaten the species that live in and depend on the vital and complex forest ecosystem. Pielou provides us with a rich understanding of the northern forests in this work praised for its nontechnical presentation, scientific objectivity, and original illustrations."--Pub. desc |
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Through identification keys, descriptions, and life histories of the conifer tree species, the author emphasizes how different these plants are both biologically and evolutionarily from the hardwoods we also call "trees." Following this introduction to the essential conifers, the author's perceptive insights expand to include the interactions of conifers with other plants, fungi, mammals, birds, and amphibians |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index |
| Notes |
Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed July 7, 2017) |
| Subject |
Conifers -- North America
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Evergreens -- North America
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Forest ecology -- North America
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NATURE -- Plants -- General.
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Conifers
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Evergreens
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Forest ecology
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North America
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| Form |
Electronic book
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| LC no. |
2011011639 |
| ISBN |
9780801463037 |
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0801463033 |
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9780801463044 |
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0801463041 |
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