Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England
Books / Hardcover
Books › Nature › Plants › Trees
ISBN: 0881503789 / Publisher: Countryman Pr, April 1997
Enhanced by etchings and illustrations by Brian Cohen, this ode to the landscape of central New England by ecologist Wessels (environmental biology, Antioch New England Graduate School) sees the forest for the trees by chronicling its evolution from the Ice Age to current challenges. Appends a primer to reading evidence of former disturbance, plant site conditions, eco-indicators, and a glossary of the regions's flora, fauna, and indigenous tribes. Paper edition (unseen), $17.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
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Landscape is much more than scenery to be observed or even terrain to be traveled, as this fascinating and many-layered book vividly shows us. Etched into the land is the history of how we have inhabited it, the storms and fires that have shaped it, and its response to these and other changes. An intrepid sleuth and articulate tutor, Wessels teaches us to read a landscape the way we might solve a mystery. What exactly is the meaning of all those stone walls in the middle of the forest? Why do beech and birch trees have smooth bark when the bark of all other northern species is rough? How do you tell the age of a beaver pond and determine if beavers still live there? Why are pine trees dominant in one patch of forest and maples in another? What happened to the American chestnut? Turn to this book and no walk in the woods will ever be the same.
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