The Best Forestry eBooks of All Time

NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From the world's leading forest ecologist who forever changed how people view trees and their connections to one another and to other living things in the forest—a moving, deeply personal journey of discovery. “Finding the Mother Tree reminds us that the world is a web of stories, connecting us to one another. [The book] carries the stories of trees, fungi, soil and bears--and of a human being listening in on the conversation. The interplay of personal narrative, scientific insights and the amazing revelations about the life of the forest make a compelling story.

”—Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass. Suzanne Simard is a pioneer on the frontier of plant communication and intelligence; her TED talks have been viewed by more than 10 million people worldwide. In this, her first book, now available in paperback, Simard brings us into her world, the intimate world of the trees, in which she brilliantly illuminates the fascinating and vital truths--that trees are not simply the source of timber or pulp, but are a complicated, interdependent circle of life; that forests are social, cooperative creatures connected through underground networks by which trees communicate their vitality and vulnerabilities with communal lives not that different from our own. Simard writes--in inspiring, illuminating, and accessible ways—how trees, living side by side for hundreds of years, have evolved, how they learn and adapt their behaviors, recognize neighbors, compete and cooperate with one another with sophistication, characteristics ascribed to human intelligence, traits that are the essence of civil societies--and at the center of it all, the Mother Trees: the mysterious, powerful forces that connect and sustain the others that surround them. And Simard writes of her own life, born and raised into a logging world in the rainforests of British Columbia, of her days as a child spent cataloging the trees from the forest and how she came to love and respect them. And as she writes of her scientific quest, she writes of her own journey, making us understand how deeply human scientific inquiry exists beyond data and technology, that it is about understanding who we are and our place in the world.

A NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER • One of the most beloved books of our time: an illuminating account of the forest, and the science that shows us how trees communicate, feel, and live in social networks. After reading this book, a walk in the woods will never be the same again. “Breaks entirely new ground ... [Peter Wohlleben] has listened to trees and decoded their language. Now he speaks for them.”—The New York Review of Books.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BRAINPICKINGS • HONORABLE MENTION: SEJ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award • Shortlisted: Audible International Book of the Year Award • Books For a Better Life Award • Indie Choice Award—Nonfiction Book of the Year. Are trees social beings? In The Hidden Life of Trees forester and author Peter Wohlleben convincingly makes the case that, yes, the forest is a social network. He draws on groundbreaking scientific discoveries to describe how trees are like human families: tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, support them as they grow, share nutrients with those who are sick or struggling, and even warn each other of impending dangers. Wohlleben also shares his deep love of woods and forests, explaining the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration that he has observed in his woodland. “A declaration of love and an engrossing primer on trees, brimming with facts and an unashamed awe for nature.”—Washington Post. “Heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment.”—The New Yorker. Includes a Note From a Forest Scientist by Dr.Suzanne Simard. Published in Partnership with the David Suzuki Institute.

Forestry in Ireland has never been so contentious. Over the last century the area of Irish woodland has increased tenfold, mostly through the planting of imported conifer species; government policy is to plant more trees to supply industry and to tackle climate change, both urgent priorities. But there has been a backlash from farmers, local communities, environmentalists and EU regulators. The rate of planting has plummeted. And up to one-third of new plantations in Ireland are failed forests that should never have been planted in the first place. How did we end up in this peculiar situation?

Island of Woods traces the history of Irish forests over the last 10,000 years. It explains why Ireland lost so much of its forest cover, before a burst of tree-planting over the last few decades. It examines the state of Irish forestry today and sketches a way forward for our woods that balances commercial, environmental and social goals – a vision of a different type of forestry that could transform the Irish landscape and re-establish a genuine tree culture in the country. This engaging examination of Irish woodlands relates historical events to present-day concerns and controversies, drawing out crucial themes that continue to shape the Irish landscape. Table of Contents. Introduction. 1. Going Native. 2. Early Humans. 3. Celtic Ireland. 4. Medieval Invaders. 5. Conquest and Commerce. 6. The Two Irelands. 7. Reforesting Ireland. 8. Grinding to a Halt. 9. A Sylvan Future?