Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Human-Environment Interactions in Forest Ecosystems [Hardcover]

Emilio F. Moran (Editor), Elinor Ostrom (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262134535 | ISBN-13: 978-0262134538 | Publication Date: July 8, 2005

Throughout much of human history, changes to forest ecosystems have come about through natural climatic changes occurring over long periods of time. But scientists now find changes in forest cover dramatically accelerated by such human activities as large-scale agriculture, the building of dams and roads, and the growth of cities with vast areas of asphalt. Changes that once took centuries now take only decades. Seeing the Forest and the Trees examines changes in land cover and land use in forested regions as major contributors to global environmental change. It investigates why some forested areas thrive even in the presence of high human densities and activity while others decline and disappear.The book brings together findings from an ongoing, large-scale, multidisciplinary research project undertaken by anthropologists, geographers, economists, sociologists, political scientists, environmental scientists, and biologists in more than twelve countries at over eighty locations. After addressing theory and methodology, including chapters on satellite remote sensing, geographic information systems, and modeling of land-cover change, the book presents case studies that compare data across sites and across temporal and spatial scales. It contributes to Human Dimensions in Global Change research and proposes new directions for this area of study.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Human-environment theories, comparative analyses of case studies, and remote sensing and GIS methods form the three pillars of this book. It advances our understanding of interactions among people, forests, and institutions - a comprehensive journey into high quality land use research."--Eric Lambin, Department of Geography and Land-Use and Land-Cover Change Project, University of Louvain, Belgium

About the Author

Emilio F. Moran is Rudy Professor of Anthropology, Professor of Environmental Sciences, Director of the Anthropological Center for Training and Research on Global Environmental Change and Adjunct Professor of Geography at Indiana University. He is Codirector of the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 504 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (July 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262134535
• ISBN-13: 978-0262134538
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,260,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The second growth club, January 14, 2006

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Reader from Yellow River - See all my reviews

This review is from: Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Human-Environment Interactions in Forest Ecosystems (Paperback)

What people do is behind the build-up of earth-warming gases. For example, carbon dioxide builds up from people using fossil fuels and cutting down tropical forests. Methane builds up from people raising so many animals and so much irrigated rice. These gases change climate. Changed climate means changed air and water, changed farming, and changed life.

In these cases, people change land cover by changing land use. Is it surprising that changing forest cover is so serious? Trees are homes to plants, people, bugs, birds and animals. They keep us all breathing, by adding oxygen to the air. They make sure there's carbon, what with green things growing old and dying. They make sure there's water by getting rainfall into the ground and the water table. They make sure water levels stay about the same in streams and stop soil erosion on stream banks.

Land cover always changes. But that used to be part of natural climate changes taking place over a long time. What's different now is fast-paced land clearing for grazing, farming, and building dams, roads and suburbs. Some forests grow back. Others not.

Natural scientists were the first squeaky wheels about the role of people in all this. They couldn't come up with solutions, on their own, to problem changes in air and weather. They needed the help of social scientists. For everywhere natural scientists were SEEING THE FOREST AND THE TREES they were also seeing HUMAN-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS IN FOREST ECOSYSTEMS.

Editors Emilio F Moran and Elinor Ostrom, along with their contributing writers, all agree the future of forests, forest livers, and people depends on natural and social scientists working together. The problems of the forest, and of the quality of life on earth, have nature and people aspects. But our educational system gets in the way of this kind of problem-solving. From elementary schools all the way through universities, the natural and social sciences are kept apart. That can change, with enough time, goodwill and effort, say the editors and writers. And the Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change at Indiana University sets a fine example.

This well-indexed book has helpful tables, photographs and figures. It ends with a good glossary and an up-to-date set of references. The editors say they're writing for university and university-level research settings. The style and wording can be academic. But the problems and problem-solving go with clear graphics, examples and conclusions. So readers should catch all the fine points of what Virginia Tech master gardeners call that most important wildlands-urban interface.