An Ecological Perspective on Earth
Author: R. Edward Grumbine
Publisher: Island Press
Publication Date: Sep 30, 2012
About: Outdoors & Nature, Science
Edition: Ebook
ISBN 9781610914208
PRICE $2.99 (USD)
FTC: Review for Island Press and Net Galley
Synopsis: In Thinking Like a Mountain, we have excerpted a clear and inviting introduction to the science of conservation biology from Ed Grumbine's previous book, Ghost Bears. Grumbine offers a succinct and evocative description of why we should all care about biodiversity, protected lands, connectivity, and extinction rates, and the advantages to be gained by attempting to 'think like a mountain', as so eloquently phrased by Aldo Leopold.
Review: Thinking Like a Mountain An Ecological Perspective on Earth
I was excited to see the title "Thinking like a Mountain", a phrase popular by Aldo Leopold in his book "A Sand County Almanac". Leopold is known as the father of wildlife ecology and the United States wilderness system.
R. Edward Grumbine is passionate when stating there is, "no endangered ecosystem act" and he writes, "from an ecosystem perspective, people are utterly dependent on biodiversity but so far, biological or economic meta-analyses to the consequences of reducing biodiversity have not done much to alter peoples everyday behavior."
When I'm not blogging, I enjoy hiking at preserves and prairies and this book provides a wealth of information that I was not aware of. There's a section on page 39 that explains that not all species benefit from edges and that forest songbirds have seen declines. Grumbine goes on to explain, "Nest predation and parasitism increase dramatically near the edge of habitat patches. Much of this is because of the increased population of raccoons, skunks, opossums, and other middle-sized omnivores that thrive in fragmented landscapes."
Anyone who hikes the same preserve over a period will notice a change. It's simply impossible not to. Up north of us, once stood sand dunes and prairies with grasses and flowers. Between the dunes were wetlands with mucky, rich soil. These areas harbored a diverse landscape of rare plants and animals but today are a mere shadow of what they once were as fragmentation and land development changed the landscape - trees crowded, groundwater levels fluctuated, and invasive plants caused a change to the landscape.
A thought-provoking detail in the book reminds us, "Humans discount species that are difficult to interact with, that do their work unseen- spiders, soil, invertebrates, mycorrhizal, fungi, insects, and so on." Unfortunately, the emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle from Asia, attacked the ash trees here causing a large percentage to fall or be removed. In cases where the trees are diseased or weak, removal will aid in providing more sunlight for rare plants to thrive. However, this must be watched closely to make sure invasive plants are contained. The “American Reinvestment and Recovery Act” of 2009 has helped begin the restoration of habitats with other native trees.
Yes, the natural world is a community to which we all belong, and as the author eloquently points out, "Mountains may be silent, but they also lift the human spirit, they are role models for the long run and the far-reaching view.
I thought this was a very good Ebook....the author does refer to his previous book Ghost Bears...and you can tell all his books are a labor of love. This book does provide a few images and illustrations that are also enjoyable.
Author R. Edward Grumbine