World-renowned canopy biologist Nalini Nadkarni has climbed trees on four continents with scientists, students, artists, clergymen, musicians, activists, loggers, legislators, and Inuits, gathering diverse perspectives. In "Between Earth and Sky, "a rich tapestry of personal stories, information, art, and photography, she becomes our captivating guide to the leafy wilderness above our heads. Through her luminous narrative, we embark on a multifaceted exploration of trees that illuminates the profound connections we have with them, the dazzling array of goods and services they provide, and the powerful lessons they hold for us. Nadkarni describes trees' intricate root systems, their highly evolved and still not completely understood canopies, their role in commerce and medicine, their existence in city centers and in extreme habitats of mountaintops and deserts, and their important place in folklore and the arts. She explains tree fundamentals and considers the symbolic role they have assumed in culture and religion. In a book that reawakens our sense of wonder at the fascinating world of trees, we ultimately find entry to the entire natural world and rediscover our own place in it.

A photographic identification guide to 150 species of mushrooms most commonly found in Britain and Northern Europe. A user-friendly introduction includes an overview of distribution, the anatomy of a mushroom, nomenclature and useful information on hunting for and cooking with mushrooms. The identification section then divides into three categories: edible mushrooms, inedible (but not poisonous) mushrooms, and poisonous species. There is useful information on where and when mushrooms can be found, characteristic features and if edible, how best to cook the species.

A radical proposal for how a tiny organism can transform our understanding of human relations Serving as both a guide and companion publication to the conceptual art project of the same name, The Lichen Museum explores how the physiological characteristics of lichens provide a valuable template for reimagining human relations in an age of ecological and social precarity. Channeling between the personal, the scientific, the philosophical, and the poetic, A. Laurie Palmer employs a cross-disciplinary framework that artfully mirrors the collective relations of lichens, imploring us to envision alternative ways of living based on interdependence rather than individualism and competition. Lichens are composite organisms made up of a fungus and an alga or cyanobacteria thriving in a mutually beneficial relationship. The Lichen Museum looks to these complex organisms, remarkable for their symbiosis, diversity, longevity, and adaptability, as models for relations rooted in collaboration and nonhierarchical structures. In their resistance to fast-paced growth and commodification, lichens also offer possibilities for humans to reconfigure their relationship to time and attention outside of the accelerated pace of capitalist accumulation. Drawing together a diverse set of voices, including personal encounters with lichenologists and lichens themselves, Palmer both imagines and embodies a radical new approach to human interconnection. Using this tiny organism as an emblem through which to navigate environmental and social concerns, this work narrows the gap between the human and natural worlds, emphasizing the notion of mutual dependence as a necessary means of survival and prosperity.

In einer Zeitspanne von 15 Jahren hat sich die Spanplattenindustrie zum groessten Zweig der Holzindustrie entwickelt. In allen Erdteilen ent- stehen neue Spanplattenwerke. Die Kurve der Produktion zeigt noch keine Anzeichen fur eine Abflachung. Im Gebiet der Bundesrepublik Deutschland wurde im Jahr 1961 die Grenze von 1 Million Kubikmeter uberschritten, wobei die Tagesproduktion der grossen Werke um oder uber 400 Kubikmeter liegt. Die weitgehend automatisierten Maschinen- anlagen erfordern eine sorgfaltige Betriebsuberwachung, die an das Kontrollpersonal hohe Anspruche stellt. Da die Schwierigkeiten der Spanplattenherstellung haufig unter- schatzt werden, besteht die Gefahr, dass gut kontrollierte Qualitats- erzeugnisse durch minderwertige Platten in Misskredit kommen. Um ihr zu begegnen, wurde schon im Jahr 1956 mit dem Aufbau einer deut- schen Guteschutzorganisation begonnen. Die Grundlagen einer solchen Organisation sind Prufverfahren und Gutebedingungen, die in verhalt- nismassig kurzer Zeit in die Form von DIN-Normen gebracht werden mussten. Diese Vorarbeiten sind im wesentlichen im Forschungsinstitut fur Holzwerkstoffe und Holzleime in Karlsruhe ausgefuhrt worden. Wegen der gebotenen Eile haben die Forschungsergebnisse aber keinen Niederschlag in der Fachliteratur gefunden. Der Kreis der in der deut- schen Gutegemeinschaft Spanplatten zusammengeschlossenen Hersteller- werke nimmt rasch zu, so dass es erforderlich ist, die ganze Industrie mit diesen Arbeiten vertraut zu machen. Der Wunsch, die Vorarbeiten des Karlsruher Instituts mit einer Anleitung zum Aufbau der Betriebsuber- wachung abzuschliessen und diese in Buchform herauszugeben, ging vom Verband der deutschen Sperrholz-und Spanplattenindustrie aus (VDSS).

Wild American Ginseng, America's most famous medicinal plant, is in trouble. In plain prose, James McGraw explains why as he translates the latest in ecological and conservation science findings on this unassuming understory herb. As the world's foremost authority on wild ginseng, McGraw is uniquely poised to present this story based on over twenty years of uninterrupted field research. McGraw traces the dramatic ecological history of ginseng in North America, documenting the ginseng-centric view of a world increasingly dominated by both direct and indirect actions of humans. Far more than a story of a single plant species, ginseng becomes a parable, a canary in a coal mine, for what is happening to our dwindling wild species across the globe. Documenting lingchi (death by a thousand cuts) in human interactions with wild species, McGraw shows us the evidence of our slowly eroding biodiversity and our diminishing global biotreasury. Beyond merely documenting our destruction of nature, McGraw also offers a pathway to an optimistic future for ginseng and the wild species with whom we share the planet. He illuminates how a dramatic expansion of our commitment to sharing the planet with our fellow planetary companions is the key to preservation; and now is the time to do so.