| |
The Trees in My Forest, Bernd Heinrich.
Biologist Heinrich lives in the 300-acre
forest of the title, a place he describes in detail both
verbally and visually. Alongside his scientific, though
readable, writing on the evolution of trees, sex in trees,
seeds, mushrooms, and so forth, are his hand drawn sketches.
The middle section of the book is devoted to these full-color,
exquisitely-detailed sketches, such as on the cover at left.
While the book's greatest contribution is giving the reader
an appreciation of the lives of trees and the forest as
a working ecosystem, the appendix illustrates the author's
intentions. Talking about the forest management plan he
must submit to the state of Maine, he criticizes tree farms,
plantations, and other methods of harvesting wood that are
marketed as sustainable. Heinrich proposes that forests
are not only better ecologically - through their integral
variety of species - but are also better economically. After
reading this book, one realizes that practices ignoring
the the basic tenets of nature need to be rethought, as
do the systems that support and perpetuate those practices.
. . or . . 
|
