"Cottonwood and the River of Time" looks at some of the approaches
scientists have used to unravel the puzzles of the natural world.
With a lifetime of work in forestry and genetics to guide him,
Reinhard Stettler celebrates both what has been learned and what
still remains a mystery as he examines not only cottonwoods but
also trees more generally, their evolution, and their relationship
to society.
Cottonwoods flourish on the verge, near streams and rivers.
Their life cycle is closely attuned to the river's natural
dynamics. An ever-changing floodplain keeps generating new
opportunities for these pioneers to settle and prepare the ground
for new species. Perpetual change is the story of cottonwoods --
but in a broader sense, the story of all trees and all kinds of
life. Through the long parade of generation after generation, as
rivers meander and glaciers advance and retreat, trees have adapted
and persisted, some for thousands of years. How do they do this?
And more urgently, what lessons can we learn from the study of
trees to preserve and manage our forests for an uncertain
future?
In his search for answers, Stettler moves from the floodplain of
a West Cascade river, where seedlings compete for a foothold, to
mountain slopes, where aspens reveal their genetic differences in
colorful displays; from the workshops of Renaissance artists who
painted their masterpieces on poplar to labs where geneticists have
recently succeeded in sequencing a cottonwood's genome; from the
intensively cultivated tree plantations along the Columbia to
old-growth forests challenged by global warming.
Natural selection and adaptation, the comparable advantages and
disadvantages of sexual versus asexual reproduction, the history of
plant domestication, and the purposes, risks, and potential
benefits of genetic engineering are a few of the many chapters in
this story. By offering lessons in how nature works, as well as how
science can help us understand it, Cottonwood and the River of Time
illuminates connections between the physical, biological, and
social worlds.
Reinhard F. Stettler is professor emeritus of forestry at the
University of Washington.
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