A wise woman once told me trees aren’t controversial: everyone loves them! For the most part, I agree, however trees can be the source of controversy—more on that later.
This post is inspired by the recent library acquisition The Book of Leaves: A Leaf-by-Leaf Guide to Six Hundred of the World’s Great Trees by Allen J. Coombes and Edited by Zsolt Debrczy. The book is simply gorgeous: almost every page has a picture of the actual size leave accompanied by a description and information about tree habitat, leaf arrangements, fruit and more.* As Debreczy says “Leaves are a true miracle…” they produce energy for the tree, they release oxygen necessary for life, and they are stunning! ENV.COLL.QK477.2.14C662010
One can tell that Joan Maloof, author of Teaching the Trees: Lessons from the Forest, loves trees because it spills out of her writing. In the book, which is speckled with illustrations by naturalist John Abbot, Maloof shares her perceptions of the “magical web of relationships” in the forest with eighteen-chapters focused on different species. ENV.COLL. QK115.M155 2005
Now, onto the more legal, scientific, and policy issues surrounding trees: old growth, logging and protests!
Old Growth in a New World: A Pacific Northwest Icon Revisited offers a historical and scientific examination of Old Growth. Some of the scientific issues include: maintaining biodiversity, fish, and wildlife habitats. The book also discusses forest management, conservation and more. ENV.COLL. SD387.04305452009
Tree Huggers: Victory, Defeat and Renewal in the Northwest Ancient Forest Campaign chronicles activists both extreme, and traditional in the structural sense, challenging the powerful timber companies of Oregon to protect habitats and biodiversity. Ultimately, the group had success in slowing the destruction of “an irreplaceable national legacy.” ENV.COLL. SD387.043 D87 1996.
Susanna Hecht and Alexander Cockburn offer an international perspective in The Fate of the Forest: Developers, Destroyers, and Defenders of the Amazon. The book explores the history of the Amazon, prior to colonization to present day. ENV.COLL.SD418.3A53H43201
Forest Conservation Policy by V. Alaric Sample and Antony S. Cheng reviews some of the current issues in US Forest Policy including: biodiversity, forest biotechnology, and forests and atmospheric carbon. ENV.COLL.SD412.S262004
Want more books on trees? The library has over 200 diverse offerings related to trees; type in “trees” as a keyword search in Julien. And don’t forget to show the trees a little love—a hug now and then, never hurts!
*VLS officially opened its campus arboretum in April 2010; how about that?!
Julien & Virginia Cornell Library 