The World of Northern Evergreens

170 Pages·2011·3.135 MB·English

by  E. C. Pielou

THE WORLD OF
Northern Evergreens
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other books by e. c. pielou
After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America
A Naturalist’s Guide to the Arctic
Fresh Water
The Energy of Nature
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THE WORLD OF
Northern Evergreens
second edition
E. C. Pielou
Comstock Publishing Associates
a division of Cornell University Press
ithaca and london
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Copyright © 2011 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this
book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without
permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address
Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca,
New York 14850.
First published 2011 by Cornell University Press
First printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2011
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pielou, E. C.
The world of northern evergreens / E.C. Pielou. — 2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-7740-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Conifers—North America. 2. Evergreens —North America.
3. Forest ecology—North America. I. Title.
QK494.P54 2011
585'.2097—dc22
2011011639
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally responsible
suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in the publish-
ing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-based, low-VOC
inks and acid-free papers that are recycled, totally chlorine-free, or
partly composed of nonwood fi bers. For further information, visit
our website at www.cornellpress.cornell.edu.
Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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In Memory of Patrick and Frank
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Contents
Preface to the Second Edition ix
Preface to the First Edition xi
1 Origin of the Evergreen Forests 1
Conifers and the Ice Age, 1 The Advantages of Being Evergreen, 3
The Advantages of Long-Lived Leaves, 4 Enduring the Cold, 5
2 Identifying the Conifers 7
How Plants (Including Trees) Are Classifi ed, 7 The Ten Genera, 8
The Thirty-Two Species, 15 Conifer Families, 33
3 Reproduction of Conifers 35
Pollen Cones and Pollen, 35 Pollination, 37 A Contrast between Seed
Cones and Pollen Cones, 39 Vegetative Reproduction, 40
4 The Life and Growth of a Conifer 43
Wood, 43 Cut Stumps and Whole Trees, 45 Outside the
Cambium, 50 Leaves, 53 Roots, 55
5 Broadleafs Growing among the Conifers 59
Broadleafs in a Harsh Climate, 59 Poplars, 61 Birches, 64
Alders, 65
vii
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viii contents
6 Two Kinds of Trees: Conifers and Broadleafs 67
Introduction, 67 The Ancestry of “Trees,” 67 The Basic Difference
between Conifers and Broadleafs, 68 Gymnosperms Are Woody, 69
The Speed of Living, 70 The Architecture of Trees, 71
Vegetative Reproduction, 72 The Aroma of Conifers, 72
7 Life on the Forest Floor 74
The Soil, 74 Forest Flowers, 75 The Floor of the Boreal Forest, 78
Valuable Dead Wood and Debris, 79 Open Water, 81
8 Parasites on the Conifers 84
The Value of Rot and Decay, 84 Decay Fungi, 84 Rusts, 86
Dwarf Mistletoe, 90
9 Insects and Conifers 93
Insects as Feeders, 93 Beetles, 94 Caterpillars and Pseudocaterpillars, 97
Sawfl ies, 101 Bugs, 101 Parasitoids, 105 Ants and Others, 106
10 Some Mammals and Birds of the Forest 108
Food and Shelter, 108 Seldom Seen Mammals, 108 Squirrels and
Their Relatives, 111 A Rodent and a Lagomorph, 113
Big Herbivores, 115 Carnivores, 117 Big Omnivores, 118 Birds, 119
11 Natural and Unnatural Interference 125
Fire, 125 Forest Succession, 129 Snow and Wind, 130 Air Pollution
and Acid Rain, 134 Logging, 135
12 The Big Picture 138
Introduction, 138 Forest Regions, 138 What Controls Which Species
Grow Where? 141
13 Global Warming and the Forests 143
Introduction, 143 The Physics of Climate Change, 143 How Will
Climate Change Affect the Forests? 145 Fire and the Forests, 147
Insects, Lightning, Wind, and Snow (Again), 148 The Value (If Any)
of Predictions, 149
Index 153
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Preface to the
Second Edition
The world has changed since 1988 (the year when the fi rst edition of
this book appeared). At last it is dawning on governments that forests are
more than just a source of timber. They provide, as well, indispensable
“ecological services.” Were they to disappear, climate change would speed
up because the world would lose its greatest carbon sink.
Ways to estimate the monetary worth of ecological services have re-
cently been devised. So far, they have been carried out in detail in only a
few places in the world. For example,* a closed-canopy forest in Kenya
(East Africa) was found to supply $320 million in services, every year,
from 1600 square miles (about 4100 km2).
As the true worth of forests comes to be appreciated, naturalists’ knowl-
edge is regarded with more respect than it was in the days when their
activities were looked on as no more than an enjoyable hobby. Their ex-
pertise has become useful and widely appreciated. The purpose of this new
edition is to introduce new material on the evergreens in northern North
America and to bring the earlier book up-to-date.
Some particulars: I have described the contrast between conifers and
broadleafs (formerly, and less precisely, known as “hardwoods”) in much
more detail. The enormous gap between these two kinds of plants is
* Jen Fela, “Reforestation Key to Economic Growth in Kenya,” in Frontiers in Ecology
and the Environment, vol. 8, no. 2, 2010, p. 63.
ix
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x preface to the second edition
obscured by labeling them all simply as “trees.” It conceals their great dis-
similarity. They have been evolving divergently from each other for more
than a hundred million years (see chapter 6). New chapters are devoted
to the forest fl oor (chapter 7) and to the geographical extents of different
forest ecosystems (chapter 12). The effects of logging are discussed in
chapter 11, and how global warming is affecting the forests and vice versa,
in chapter 13.
Some paragraphs have been added on animals whose connections with
their special habitats are unusually close, for example, caribou, some griz-
zly bears, and beavers.
And much else besides. No branch of science, and that includes natural
history, ever remains static.
E. C. Pielou
Comox, British Columbia
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