Описание
Preface
A lot has happened in the tree world since this book was first written. Some
previously unanswered questions can now be addressed, and some things we
thought we knew have proved to be wrong or not the whole story. These have
been put right. Our understanding of trees has also made huge leaps in areas
such as the role of genetics and genetic engineering, effects of climate change,
hydraulic engineering (including the bitter debate over how water gets up a
tree), factors limiting tree height and why trees have colourful leaves in the
autumn. New material has been added on all these and in many other areas
where new discoveries have been made. This ranges from the surreal (did you
know that cosmic radiation and the ocean tides appear to affect tree growth) to
the practical (why have artificial wine bottle corks proliferated?). Many of the
problems faced by trees are caused by us humans, so there is also a new chapter
on our interactions with trees looking at just why they are good for us and
therefore worth preserving. I hope you have as much fun reading this as I had
writing it.
Following comments on the first edition, the number of references at the
end of each chapter has been increased to help those who want to dig deeper.
To keep the text flowing, however, I’ve only included reference to these in the
text where it is not clear which source is being used. Also following reader
feedback, more scientific names of trees have been included with the common
names, which I hope you won’t find too intrusive.
In addition to those thanked in the first preface, I am most grateful to the
following for help in gathering data and clarifying ideas: Richard Hobbs, Leif
Kullman, Norm Kenkel, Janet Sprent, Andy Hirons and Duncan Slater. Andy
Lawrence did a wonderful job in drawing the new diagrams. Alan Lacey is
also thanked for kindly providing access to his years of research on the
sycamore.
The first stirrings of this second edition began during a Bullard Fellowship at
Harvard University and the help this gave me is very gratefully acknowledged.
The collection of leaf data from Honduras that was used in Chapter 2 was
kindly made possible by Operation Wallacea, and the following huge team are
thanked for their help in braving the often inclement conditions to gather the
data: Kelly Barber, Natalie Gérardy, Catherine Dieleman, Alex Rupp, Cassidy
van Rensen, Stephanie Ryan, Heather Crochetiere, Nicole Meneses, Maja
Goschorska, Matthew Levan, Amy Stypa, Sarah Jupp, Sophie Cunningham,
Carlos Carias, Edwardo Antunez, Christie Rajtar, Matthew Sargeant, Yacyi Mi,
Refika Mustafa and in particular Leanne Meadows, Amy Rushton, Nigel Taylor,
Karly Harker and Gurjot Malhi for their stamina and fortitude. The canopy
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