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Temperate and Boreal Rainforests of the World

Ecology and Conservation

  • Book
  • © 2011

Overview

  • DellaSala is an experienced, well-known, and well-regarded conservation scientist who has assembled top scientist contributors in the field
  • The biological uniqueness and importance of temperate and boreal rainforests
  • The increasing threats to their integrity, especially from global climate change and the increasing human footprint
  • The lack of scientific synthesis to date
  • Principal reference for conservation groups, decision makers, and land managers concerned about the fate of these forests

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Table of contents (11 chapters)

Keywords

About this book

Temperate rainforests are biogeographically unique. Compared to their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are rarer and are found disproportionately along coastlines. Because most temperate rainforests are marked by the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems, these rich ecotones are among the most productive regions on Earth. Globally, temperate rainforests store vast amounts of carbon, provide habitat for scores of rare and endemic species with ancient affinities, and sustain complex food-web dynamics. In spite of their global significance, however, protection levels for these ecosystems are far too low to sustain temperate rainforests under a rapidly changing global climate and ever expanding human footprint. Therefore, a global synthesis is needed to provide the latest ecological science and call attention to the conservation needs of temperate and boreal rainforests.

A concerted effort to internationalize the plight of the world’s temperate and boreal rainforests is underway around the globe; this book offers an essential (and heretofore missing) tool for that effort. DellaSala and his contributors tell a compelling story of the importance of temperate and boreal rainforests that includes some surprises (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Russia). This volume provides a comprehensive reference from which to build a collective vision of their future.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Geos Institute, Ashland, USA

    Dominick A. DellaSala

About the author

Dominick A. DellaSala is Chief Scientist and President of the Geos Institute in Ashland, Oregon, and President of the North American section of the Sfor Conservation Biology.

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