Reviews

The Hidden Forest: The Biography of an Ecosystem, by Jon R. Luoma

chelseas_books's review against another edition

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5.0

Fantastic book that discusses many layers of forest ecosystems and the political controversies surrounding them without compromising either readability by loading up on jargon or scientific focus by leaving out theory.

kathleenitpdx's review

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4.0

Luoma writes about what “long-term, large-scale, interdisciplinary ecological studies” can tell us about forests. He focuses on the teams that have worked at the Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon. Fascinating information on how nutrients are extracted and cycle through the plants, fungi, bugs and animals of old growth forests. How forests respond to cataclysms such as clear cuts, volcanic eruptions and floods.
I read the first edition (1999). It seems that there is a second edition (2006) but I expect that much more has been uncovered since then.
Luoma includes the spotted owl and salmon wars from the stand point of what science could tell us. I am in search of a similar report of more recent vintage.
I can also recommend [b:The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring|22163|The Wild Trees A Story of Passion and Daring|Richard Preston|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388187459s/22163.jpg|1937343] by [a:Richard Preston|9996|Richard Preston|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1328565865p2/9996.jpg] that tells more about the technics of exploring tree canopies but in the Redwoods.
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