Seeing the Forest for the TreesForests, Climate Change, and Our Future

ISBN : 9781108601559

Author : Gordon Bonan

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Year : 2023

Language : English

Type : E-book

Description : For centuries, people have understood that forests, and our utilisation of them, influence the climate. With modern environmental concerns, there is now scientific, governmental, and popular interest in planting trees for climate protection. This book examines the historical origins of the idea that forests influence climate, the bitter controversy that ended the science, and its modern rebirth. Spanning the 1500s to the present, it provides a broad perspective across the physical and biological sciences, as well as the humanities, to explain the many ways forests influence climate. It describes their use in climate-smart forestry and as a natural climate solution, and demonstrates that in the forest–climate question, human and sylvan fates are linked. Accessibly written with minimal mathematics, it is ideal for students in environmental and related sciences, as well as anyone with an interest in understanding the environmental workings of forests and their interactions with climate. Reviews ‘Gordon Bonan is one of the world's leading experts on the carbon, water and energy dynamics of forests, and their influence on the Earth system … Bonan's understanding of the history of the forest-climate controversy (do forests affect climate, and for good or ill?) is encyclopedic, and in the first part of this book he tells the story in wonderful detail. This is followed by a clear and engaging description of how that controversy has been resolved through modern research, and an accessible telling of how forests actually function, from microclimates to the global carbon cycle. Case studies of climate sensitive regions and the potential for climate-smart forests bring the knowledge presented throughout the book to bear on important questions we face about conserving and managing these magnificent ecosystems.’ John Aber - University Professor emeritus, University of New Hampshire; author of Less Heat More Light

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