Swamplands : tundra beavers, quaking bogs, and the improbable world of peat
In a world filled with breathtaking beauty, we have often overlooked the elusive charm and magic of certain landscapes. A cloudy river flows into a verdant Arctic wetland where sandhill cranes and muskoxen dwell. Further south, cypress branches hang low over dismal swamps. Places like these-collectively known as swamplands or peatlands-often go unnoticed for their ecological splendor. They are as globally significant as rainforests, and function as critical carbon sinks for addressing our climate crisis. Yet, because of their reputation as wastelands, they are being systematically drained and degraded to make way for oilsands, mines, farms, and electricity.... Swamplands highlights the unappreciated struggle being waged to save peatlands by scientists, conservationists, and landowners around the world. An ode to peaty landscapes in all their offbeat glory, the book is also a demand for awareness of the myriad threats they face. It urges us to see the beauty and importance in these least likely of places. Our planet's survival might depend on it.
Available Copies by Location
Location | |
---|---|
Victoria | Available |
Browse Related Items
Subject |
Swamp ecology. Peatlands. Pealand ecology. |
Genre |
Canadian non-fiction. |
- ISBN: 1642830801
- ISBN: 9781642830804
-
Physical Description
print
xiii, 297 pages : illustrations, map - Publisher Washington : Island Press, [2021]
- Copyright ©2021
Content descriptions
Bibliography, etc. Note: | Includes bibliographical references, Internet addresses and index. |
Formatted Contents Note: | Preface -- Introduction -- The Great Dismal Swamp -- Central Park -- Peat and endangered species -- Tropical peat -- Ash meadows, ancient bogs, and desert fens -- Sasquatches of the swamps -- Peat and reptiles -- Mountain peat -- Ring of fire: the Hudson Bay lowlands -- Pingos, polygons, and frozen peat -- Tundra beavers, saltwater trout, and barren-ground grizzly bears -- Portals to the Otherworld -- "Growing peat" -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Acknowledgments -- Index -- About the author. |
Additional Information
Summary
Swamplands : Tundra Beavers, Quaking Bogs, and the Improbable World of Peat
In a world filled with breathtaking beauty, we have often overlooked the elusive charm and magic of certain landscapes. A cloudy river flows into a verdant Arctic wetland where sandhill cranes and muskoxen dwell. Further south, cypress branches hang low over dismal swamps. Places like these-collectively known as swamplands or peatlands-often go unnoticed for their ecological splendor. They are as globally significant as rainforests, and function as critical carbon sinks for addressing our climate crisis. Yet, because of their reputation as wastelands, they are being systematically drained and degraded to make way for oilsands, mines, farms, and electricity. In Swamplands , journalist Edward Struzik celebrates these wild places, venturing into windswept bogs in Kauai and the last remnants of an ancient peatland in the Mojave Desert. The secrets of the swamp aren't for the faint of heart. Ed loses a shoe to an Arctic wolf and finds himself ankle-deep in water during a lightning storm. But, the rewards are sweeter for the struggle: an enchanting Calypso orchid; an elusive yellow moth thought to be extinct; ancient animals preserved in lifelike condition down to the fur. Swamplands highlights the unappreciated struggle being waged to save peatlands by scientists, conservationists, and landowners around the world. An ode to peaty landscapes in all their offbeat glory, the book is also a demand for awareness of the myriad threats they face. It urges us to see the beauty and importance in these least likely of placesÂ. Our planet's survival might depend on it.