Customer Reviews

Trees, Truffles, and Beasts: How Forests Function

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"Dung beetles and other creatures that feed on animal feces may initially arouse disgust in humans....They dig a burrow, tumble the dung ball into it, and then bury themselves with the ball. There they feed on it and, after mating, the female lays eggs in it. The larvae that hatch are embedded in their nutritious and, to them, tasty food supply. When they mature to adults, they dig themselves out of the ground and repeat the cycle of dung tumbling, burrowing, banqueting, and reproducing." This quote, from pp 43-44 in Trees, Truffles, and Beasts is an example of what is truly great about this book. A deep, scientific look at a very few of the amazing cycles which make forests work. If you think trees grow in dirt with water from rain and energy from the sun, you may likely be shocked, like I was, with the critical role of mycorrhizal fungus in the synergy which makes big trees become old-growth giants.

The authors choose to explain a few cycles in great detail while leaving us with just a hint of the thousands, or even millions, of such cycles involved. The fungus wraps around tree roots and provides water far beyond the root balls of the evergreen. Douglas firs would be stunted average trees, if it were not for their subterranean fungus friends. But the fungus, buried as they are, could never reproduce. So they wrap their spores around a tasty and smelly truffle, which certain animals dig up, consume, and then disperse the spores either by wind or by scat. It's elegant, unseen, and under appreciated by most forest lovers let alone the populace of voters who determine our forests' fate.

The story of the mycorrhizal fungi, their mycophagist friends, and the giant trees is beautifully written but is only about 30% of the book. It is wrapped in classic textbook writing and some misplaced philosophy. The textbook approach is obvious in the sections about trees and forest animals. These sections are good references but not great reads. The authors choose to look at both the forests of the Pacific Northwest and Australia. I was not convinced as much of the commonality as I think they hoped.

The philosophy seems out of place in this book. The authors have a very strong absolute evolution message which may be scientifically palatable but to me was out of place in this story. Their environmental message is appropriate but over-blown. An excellent example of this out-of-place philosophy is at the start of chapter 6 on forest fires and their effect on the landscape. "When considering system-altering disturbances, we must recognize what sets us apart form our fellow creatures. It is not some higher sense of spirituality or some nobler sense of purpose, but rather that we deem ourselves wise in our own eyes. Therein lies the fallacy..." But wait, I want to know about truffles and voles!!

This is a good book to fill out your knowledge of old growth forests. It shouldn't be the one book you read on old growth forests nor the first. It's probably best for people who have dug their hands into the forest loam to see the space within the organics and wondered about the wispy white streaks that flow through the dark dirt to wrap around roots. Ah! My new friend mycorrhizal fungus. I have also learned that I, like most Pacific Northwest rodents, am a casual or opportunistic mycophagist. If that intrigues you, then read this book.

Note that my book has the following pages blank: 16-17, 20-21, 24-25, 28-29, 32-33, 36-37. You may want to check your book before purchasing.