Forests in Time

This important book relates the history of natural and human-induced changes that have occurred in the past one thousand years in New England and explores the modern ecology of this largely forested landscape. Written by leading biological, physical, and social scientists, the book uniquely demonstrates that an understanding of landscape history is essential for the study of ecology and environmental management. After a discussion of the elements that initially shaped the land, the authors describe how the New England landscape changed drastically with the arrival of European settlers nearly four hundred years ago, as they cleared the land of forest and extensively farmed it. Observed patterns of forest regrowth following a shift in agriculture to the Midwest form the basis for explanations of changes in native wildlife populations and, more fundamentally, ecosystem structure and function.