There is a rapid rate of forest clearance in many tropical countries. This problem is becoming more serious as the rising world population increases demand for fuelwood and timber. The reduced area of forest must be treated so as to produce the highest possible sustained yield of suitable timber compatible with protecting the environment and water supplies, conserving wild life, enhancing attractive scenery, and giving opportunities for recreation. In Europe complete regimes for regenerating, tending, and harvesting forests called "silvicultural systems" have provided effective solutions to these problems. These are being used successfully in temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical forestry, often under conditions very different from those in which they originated. This book describes the theoretical basis and practical application of 20 silvicultural systems so that foresters and other land managers, ecologists, and landscape designers can select and use those best suited to their needs.

This book examines the foundations of evolution and deep-time from non-Christian cultures in the Ancient Middle East and Indian Sub-Continent. It then examines how such pagan-religious beliefs were brought into the emrging scientific arena by Enlightenment philosophers who had an interest in Greek paganism and Hinduism - men such as Erasmus Darwin, David Hume and Benoit de Maillet. It then looks in detail at developments in the 19th century with references for instance to the writings of Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell and Thomas Huxley.