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Forests in Peril Tracking Deciduous Trees from Ice-Age Refuges into the Greenhouse World by Hazel R. Delcourt Fall 2002, 6 x 9", x + 234 pages, 34 b/w illustrations, bibliography, index Softcover $24.95 (0-939923-89-0)

Click here to see sample pages (Table of Contents, excerpts from Introduction, Epilogue)

DESCRIPTION

The great deciduous forest that covers much of eastern North America is one of the continent's most important and magnificent natural resources. Twenty thousand years ago, however, this forest did not exist. Instead, deciduous tree species formed only a minor part of forests dominated by pines, spruces, and firs that were better adapted to a glacial climate. As the climate warmed, the deciduous forest emerged as the dominant vegetation throughout the southeastern quarter of the continent. Native Americans occupied this forest, depended upon its resources, and influenced its dynamics in distinct ways. The human influence on the forest intensified greatly during European colonization, and in the past 200 years the forest has been significantly modified as a result of human activities. As demands for living space and resources increase, the size of the remaining forest diminishes and its prospects for survival in the present and future greenhouse world grow increasingly dim.

In Forests in Peril, Hazel Delcourt takes the reader on her personal journey to document the history of this great forest from its elusive and nebulous presence at the peak of the last age through its development as a magnificent natural resource to its uncertain future in tomorrow's greenhouse world. Along the way the reader is introduced to methods of studying vegetation, collecting and interpreting data, and the application of this knowledge to secure the needs of the forest in a world increasingly dominated by human activities. The philosophical, intellectual, and methodological perspectives contained in Forests in Peril will appeal to readers interested in understanding how the natural history of North America has been studied and how that study can contribute to the protection and preservation of America's important biological resources.

Forests in Peril is a blend of autobiography, professional passion in pursuit of scholarly inquiry, and expression of the ways that the study of the past can contribute to the quality of life in the future.

AUTHOR

Dr. Hazel R. Delcourt, one of America's leading authorities on the eastern deciduous forest, is a Quaternary paleoecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at The University of Tennessee. Dr. Delcourt grew up in Muskegon, Michican, and holds degrees from Albion College, LSU, and the University of Minnesota. She worked at Oak Ridge laboratory from 1978 to 1981, and has been at The University of Tennessee since 1982.

Dr. Delcourt has been studying the vegetation history of the eastern United States for the past 30 years and has reported the results of this research in more than 70 professional articles and books, many in collaboration with her husband, Dr. Paul A. Delcourt, another of America's leading Quaternary scientists.

REVIEWS

is a scientific chronicle of the deciduous forest landscape [history of the eastern North American forest],…a personal account of how Delcourt started out as a historian of trees and morphed into a full-fledged Quaternary paleoecologist, … and [a look] forward into time as the seemingly imminent "Greenhouse Effect" threatens to change the world as we know it.

In Forests in Peril, Delcourt tells the fascinating story of her quest for the origins of American hardwood forests. While her topic is serious and scholarly, her writing style is spirited, her descriptions enchanting, and the personal spin on her life's work engaging. I whole-heartedly recommend Forests in Peril to botanists, ecologists, foresters, policymakers, as well as to anyone interested in Quaternary paleobotany, in the workings of paleontological science, or simply in the glorious deciduous forests of eastern North America.