Seeing the Forest for the Trees
Forests, Climate Change, and Our Future

This book examines the history and science of forest–climate influences and forest management to mitigate climate change.

Gordon Bonan (Author)

9781108487528, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 February 2023

300 pages
26.1 x 20.5 x 2.1 cm, 0.96 kg

'Gordan Bonan's new book provides a fascinating historical context for pressing questions about the role of forests in altering climate. It should be required reading for anyone interested in preserving or manipulating forests to benefit humans and the climate we live in. There is no better author to tell the story of the historical understanding on this topic than Bonan, the leading expert in our modern understanding of forest-climate interactions.' Abigail L. S. Swann, University of Washington

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.

Part I: Historical Perspective: 1. The Forest-Climate Question
2. Tempering the Climate, c. 1600–1840
3. Destroying the Rains, c. 1500–1830
4. Planting Trees for Rain, c. 1840–1900
5. Making a Science: Forest Meteorology, c. 1850–1880
6. American Meteorologists Speak Out, c. 1850–1910
7. Views of Forests
Part II: The Scientific Basis: 8. Global Physical Climatology
9. Forest Biometeorology
10. Scientific Tools
11. Forest Microclimates
12. Water Yield
13. Carbon Sequestration
14. Forest Macroclimates
15. Case Studies
16. Climate-Smart Forests
17. Forests of the Future
18. The Forests Before Us
Notes
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Forestry & silviculture: practice & techniques [TVR], Climate change [RNPG], Forests, rainforests [RGBL], Hydrology & the hydrosphere [RBK], Plant ecology [PSTS]