Cottonwood and the river of time : on trees, evolution, and society / Reinhard F. Stettler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stettler, R. F. (Reinhard Friedrich), 1929-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Poplar--Adaptation.

Poplar.

Poplar--Evolution.

Poplar--Genetics.

Trees--Evolution.

Trees.

Trees--Economic aspects.

Human-plant relationships.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (319 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Seattle : University of Washington Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

1: The tree and the river

The tree

The river

Regeneration

Water and nutrient relations

Perpetuate and proliferate!

2: Variation and variability

Clones

Why sex?

Password?

Natural hybridization

3: From species to population to genes

Common gardens

Transplanted trees

Getting closer to the genes

Migrant trees

Adaptation and its limits

4: Trees and society

Changing rivers

changing landscapes

The dawn of agriculture

The farmer's trees

From farmers' trees to tree farms

Poplar

a model tree

Tree genomics and beyond

Between old growth and plantations

The essence of trees

Outlook.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

ISBN:

9780295800196

0295800194

OCLC:

932315362