Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

Tracking Deciduous Trees from Ice-Age Refuges into the Greenhouse World

The great deciduous forest that covers much of eastern North America is one of the continent's most important and magnificent natural resources. Twenty thousand years ago, however, during the last ice age, this forest did not exist. Instead, deciduous tree species formed only minor parts of forests dominated by pines, spruces, and firs that were better adapted to the glacial climate. As the climate warmed, the deciduous forest emerged as the dominant vegetation throughout the southeastern quarter of the continent. Native Americans occupied this forest, depended upon its resources, and influenced its dynamics in distinct ways. The human influence on the forest intensified greatly with the onset of European colonization, and the forest has been significantly modified during the past 200 years as a result of human activities. As demands for living space and resources accelerate and as global warming increases, the size of the remaining forest diminishes and its prospect for survival in the present and future greenhouse world grows increasingly dim.

In Forests in Peril, Hazel Delcourt takes the reader on her personal journey to document the history of the forest from its elusive and nebulous presence at the peak of the last ice age through its development as a magnificent natural resource to its uncertainty in today's, and tomorrow's, greenhouse world. Along this journey, the reader is introduced to methods of studying vegetation, collecting and interpreting data, and applying the insights of forest ecology and history to project future needs of the forest in a world that is increasingly dominated by human activities. The philosophical, intellectual, and methodological perspectives contained in Forests in Peril will appeal to readers interested in understanding how the natural history of North America has been studied and how that study can contribute to the protection and preservation of America's important biological resources.