CHOICE Highly Recommended title, 2022! Forest insects play important roles ecologically and economically. They pollinate plants, decompose dead plant and animal tissue, provide food for vertebrates, regulate pest organisms and shape entire landscapes. Some are considered pests, while others provide usable products. Introduced species may become invasive, while the survival of others is threatened. Forest Insects in Europe: Diversity, Functions and Importance has been written not only with professional entomologists in mind, but also for nature lovers generally. The descriptions of the various roles insects play in forest ecosystems are intended to be easily comprehensible, but still scientific. The book is richly illustrated with attractive photos and contains 580 fascinating colour images of more than 300 different insect and spider species. The German edition was awarded the Prix Moulines by the Swiss Entomological Society in 2019.

This book is intended as a general text for undergraduates studying the manage ment of forest insect pests. It is divided into four parts: insects, ecology, manage ment, and practice. Part I, Insects, contains two chapters. The first is intended to provide an overview of the general attributes of insects. Recognizing that it is impossible to adequately treat such a diverse and complex group of organisms in such a short space, I have attempted to highlight those insectan characteristics that make them difficult animals to combat. I have also tried to expose the insects' weak points, those attributes that make them vulnerable to manipulation by human actions. Even so, this first chapter will seem inadequate and sketchy to many of my colleagues. Ideally, this book should be used in conjunction with a laboratory manual covering insect anatomy, physiology, biology, behavior, and classifica tion in much greater depth-in fact, this is how I organize my forest entomology course. It is hoped that this first chapter will provide nonentomologists with a general feel for the insects and with a broad understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, while Chapter 2 will provide a brief overview of the diverse insect fauna that attacks the various parts of forest trees and their products.

It is a great honor and indeed a privilege for me to write the Foreword to this book, the first of its kind from the Forest Products Research Institute The study of forest insects is now becoming a matter of great concern to many people all over the world because insects damage the already depleted forests and forest resources. In Ghana very little interest was shown in the insects of forest trees and products. But as forest practices have become more intensive so also have the pests on the crops increased and the damage caused increased to alarming proportions. Foresters are now becoming in creasingly aware of the immense havoc that some of these insects can cause. To aid the fight against the pests they have to be fully identified and studied so that effective control measures can be implemented. It is in an effort to bridge this gap in our knowledge that one welcomes this book by Professor Michael R. Wagner, Dr. S.K.N. Atuahene and Dr.

Few branches of the biological sciences have developed to such an extent as has ecology in the recent decades. The successful development of this science is directly related to need to create a sound scientific basis by which we can control our diminishing natural resources and integrate this with the control of biological systems of the component species. Studies on the bioenergetics of ecosystems, as well as on the home ostatic mechanisms functioning at the populations and biocenoses levels are of great importance in this respect. The results of these studies are very significant in forestry management which deals with multiannual tree communities - forest stands. It is particularly important in this of the necessity for the possible respect for economic planning, in view prolonged maintenance of forest biocenoses as stable systems. Neither in the present nor in the immediate future can be protection of forest ecosystems consisting of natural plant and animal communities be achieved by the cultivation of resistant forms or the intensification of chemical intervention.

Insect and disease issues are often specific to the Mediterranean forest systems rather than shared with the temperate forests. In addition to the specific native insects and diseases, the forests are subject to the invasion of exotic species. The forests are also at risk from high degrees of human activity, including changing patterns of forest fires, land management activities, intensive plantation forestry using introduced timber species from other Mediterranean climate zones, and atmospheric deposition. Combined with elements of global climate change that may disproportionately affect Mediterranean climate systems, this creates a number of significant management issues that are unique to the Mediterranean forests. It is our goal that the information contained in this volume will contribute to understanding the unique aspects of Mediterranean forest systems and to protecting these critical resources.

This book covers the full breadth of forest entomology. It combines the work of forest entomologists working on the impact and management of forest pests with those involved in diversity assessment and conservation of insects in forests. Forests and Insects demonstrates that both these disciplines demand an understanding of population and community biology. The book covers such topics as colonization of trees by insects, population dynamics of forest insects, insect natural enemies, the effects of climate change and pollution on forest pests, spatial variation in the abundance of insects,the mineralization of carbon by termites, the impact of herbivorous insects, and the conservation of forest insect diversity, including the effects of forest fragmentation and deforestation. This Royal Entomological Society Symposium volume will be of great interest to all agricultural and forest entomologists, population and community biologists, pest management specialists and anyone concerned with the conservation of forest biodiversity.

Forest Microbiology, Volume One: Tree Microbiome: Phyllosphere, Endosphere and Rhizosphere places an emphasis on the microbiology of leaves, needles, stems, roots, litter and soil. This comprehensive title is split into five sections, including the phyllosphere microbiome, endosphere, rhizosphere, archaea, viruses in forest ecosystem and microbiota of forest nurseries and tree pests, challenges and potentials. Microbial communities associated with various host trees and different tree tissues are compared, and generalists and specialists among tree-associated microbes are identified. In addition, biotic and abiotic factors determining the composition and the structure of forest tree microbial communities are presented, along with the concept of microbial 'hubs.' Together, the book's editors have 25 years' worth of experience teaching and conducting research on forest microbiology, making this an essential read for any scientist interested in the forest microbiome. - Addresses the microbiology of living organs of forest trees including needles, leaves, stems and roots - Highlights the potential impact of microbiota inhabiting forest trees on the health and fitness of, and disease progression in, forest biomes - Focuses on the phyllosphere, endosphere and rhizosphere forest microbiome