This book has a similar subject content to the author's previous Flow in Wood but with substantial updating due to the abundance of research in the wood science field since 1971. Several different concepts have been introduced, particularly in regard to wood-moisture relation ships. The role of water potential in the equilibria between wood and its humid and moist environments is considered. Two theories are introduced to explain the nonisothermal transport of bound water in the steady and unsteady states. As in the former text, the wood-. structure relationship is emphasized . . The author is especially grateful to Dr. C. Skaar for his careful and critical review of much of the manuscript and for the productive dis cussions of many of the concepts. Dr. T. E. Timell, the series editor, rendered major assistance in the preparation of Chap. 2 and in his editing of the manuscript. The author wishes to thank Dr. W. A. Cote, Mr. A. C. Day, and Mr. J. J. McKeon for providing electron micro graphs, Mr. G. A. Snyder for his photography of much of the art work, Dr. C. H. de Zeeuw for his advice in the field of wood anatomy, and Ms. Mary M. Siau for her careful rendition of the art work. Apprecia tion is extended to Miss Judy A. Barton and Mrs. Stephanie V. Micale for their work in typing and checking the manuscript. Mr. J. A.

In the Qing period (1644–1912), China's population tripled, and the flurry of new development generated unprecedented demand for timber. Standard environmental histories have often depicted this as an era of reckless deforestation, akin to the resource misuse that devastated European forests at the same time. This comprehensive new study shows that the reality was more complex: as old-growth forests were cut down, new economic arrangements emerged to develop renewable timber resources. Historian Meng Zhang traces the trade routes that connected population centers of the Lower Yangzi Delta to timber supplies on China's southwestern frontier. She documents innovative property rights systems and economic incentives that convinced landowners to invest years in growing trees. Delving into rare archives to reconstruct business histories, she considers both the formal legal mechanisms and the informal interactions that helped balance economic profit with environmental management. Of driving concern were questions of sustainability: How to maintain a reliable source of timber across decades and centuries? And how to sustain a business network across a thousand miles? This carefully constructed study makes a major contribution to Chinese economic and environmental history and to world-historical discourses on resource management, early modern commercialization, and sustainable development.

Here is the first systematic handbook treatment of quantitative modeling natural resource problems, their allocated efficient use, and societal and economic impact. Andrés Weintraub is the very top person in Natural Resource research. He has selected co-editors who are at the top of the sub-fields in natural resources: agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and mining. The book covers these areas with contributions from researchers on, among others, modeling natural research problems, quantifying data, and developing algorithms.