It is enough to work on the assumption that all of the details matter in the end, in some unknown but vital way. Edward O. Wilson, Biophilia Advances in knowledge of northern ecology have been so rapid that to undertake a synthesis of all the literature now available would be a major enterprise, perhaps even a life's work, and so it must be considered permissible to fill in a few gaps, follow one's own inclinations, leaving comprehensive syntheses to those willing to undertake them. This is the rubric under which I have written, reporting some of the more interesting data I and others have obtained over the years, often diverging into discussions of plants, soils, climate, and faunal relationships which have perhaps not previously been dealt with extensively, or at least in quite the same way. This is purely intentional, since I find it difficult to summon up the needed enthusiasm, at this late hour, to write on topics which unfortunately for me have little attraction. I have thus written for the pleasure derived from depicting, perhaps at times as something of an impressionist, a fascinating biotic region, a captivating land, a collection of interesting ecological problems, environmental relationships to be discerned in part, perhaps understood to some small degree, perhaps one day to be modeled mathematically. As Leo Szilard once wrote: ': . . to be able to say even this much might be of some value" (Szilard, 1960).

Keywords

Authors and Affiliations

Rhinelander, USA

James A. Larsen

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: The Northern Forest Border in Canada and Alaska
Book Subtitle: Biotic Communities and Ecological Relationships
Authors: James A. Larsen
Series Title: Ecological Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8791-6
Publisher: Springer New York, NY
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive
Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag New York Inc. 1989
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4613-8793-0Published: 08 November 2011
eBook ISBN: 978-1-4613-8791-6Published: 06 December 2012
Series ISSN: 0070-8356
Series E-ISSN: 2196-971X
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 255
Topics: Plant Sciences, Agriculture, Forestry, Ecology

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Authors:

Sections

Buy it now

Buying options

Other ways to access

Table of contents (10 chapters)

Front Matter

Back Matter

About this book