F. Stuart Chapin

"The book presents a novel strategy for addressing the major environmental and social problems of our time. It emphasizes transformative actions by individual citizens, both ordinary and extraordinary, rather than by government and other groups. It empowers a spectrum of solutions appropriate to people with varying interests, skills, political persuasions, and level of environmental and social commitment. The book draws on social and ecological theory to formulate a four-tiered stewardship strategy to transform our communities, nations, and planet. Key elements of this strategy are (1) individual actions that link people with nature and reduce human impacts on the planet, (2) effective communication to reduce political polarization and share solutions, (3) collaborations that integrate actions of multiple groups, and (4) political engagement to trigger needed transformations. The book builds on diverse visions and goals for the future of ecosystems and society: concern for the future of our children and grandchildren, a spiritual commitment to care for Creation and vulnerable people, a desire to sustain the best of nature and of cultures, and a concern about the security and well-being of our communities, nations, and the world. This is not a book about what should be done. It is a book about what has been and can be done and a pragmatic strategy for tangible progress"--

Sustainability Within Reach

Grassroots Stewardship

The Boreal forest is the northern-most forest in the world, whose organisms and dynamics are shaped by low temperature and high latitude. The Alaskan Boreal forest is warming as rapidly as any place on earth, providing an opportunity to examine a biome as it adjusts to change. This book looks at this issue.

Alaska's Changing Boreal Forest

Leslie A. Viereck

Mark W. Oswood

Keith van Cleve

David L. Verbyla

The boreal forest is the northern-most woodland biome, whose natural history is rooted in the influence of low temperature and high-latitude. Alaska's boreal forest is now warming as rapidly as the rest of Earth, providing an unprecedented look at how this cold-adapted, fire-prone forest adjusts to change. This volume synthesizes current understanding of the ecology of Alaska's boreal forests and describes their unique features in the context of circumpolar and global patterns. It tells how fire and climate contributed to the biome's current dynamics. As climate warms and permafrost (permanently frozen ground) thaws, the boreal forest may be on the cusp of a major change in state. The editors have gathered a remarkable set of contributors to discuss this swift environmental and biotic transformation. Their chapters cover the properties of the forest, the changes it is undergoing, and the challenges these alterations present to boreal forest managers. In the first section, the reader can absorb the geographic and historical context for understanding the boreal forest. The book then delves into the dynamics of plant and animal communities inhabiting this forest, and the biogeochemical processes that link these organisms. In the last section the authors explore landscape phenomena that operate at larger temporal and spatial scales and integrates the processes described in earlier sections. Much of the research on which this book is based results from the Bonanza Creek Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Here is a synthesis of the substantial literature on Alaska's boreal forest that should be accessible to professional ecologists, students, and the interested public.

F. Stuart Chapin

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