| Authors | Edited by Alper H. Çolak, Simay Kirca & Ian Rotherham |
| Language | English |
| ISBN | 9781784272647 |
| Publisher | Pelagic Publishing |
| Pages | 468 |
| Format | Hardcover |
| Images | Colour images |
| Year published | 2023 |
From antiquity until today, trees and woods have inspired artists, writers and scientists; they have shaped cultures and reverberated through belief systems. Yet worldwide forest cover has declined dramatically over the last 1,000 years. Now, primeval forests are only to be found at a few sites unreachable by humans, and even then they are affected by climate change, atmospheric pollution and species extinctions.
Nonetheless, ancient woods, trees and forests are at the core of many global landscapes. Understanding the vital resources that they provide requires genuinely multidisciplinary research. With contributions from major authorities in the field such as Oliver Rackham, Frans Vera, Elisabeth Johann, George Peterken and Melvyn Jones among others, this timely volume reflects on the importance of our oldest trees from a range of perspectives and varied geographical locations.
Individual chapters consider eco-cultural heritage, the archaeology of trees, landscape history, forest rights, tree management, saproxylic insects, the importance of deadwood, practical conservation and monitoring, biodiversity, wood-pasture and more. Fresh insights are provided from across Europe as far as Turkey. Given the urgent need to understand, conserve and restore ancient woodlands and trees, this book will do much raise awareness, foster enthusiasm and inspire wonder.
- Offers practical techniques and robust science to help ensure effective conservation of ancient trees and forests.
- Includes a wide range of geographical perspectives and cross-disciplinary expertise from leading scholars in the field.
- Abundantly illustrated, making the content appealing and the arguments memorable.
