Science and Hope. A Forest History

This book tells the story of the hopeful science and trusting art of
forestry. It is a story about the hopes of foresters and other scientists
to understand the forests more deeply, and about their unspoken trust
that their knowledge could ensure an enduring sylvan future. Much
has been written on the origins and development of modern forestry in
various countries, and on the people and institutions involved, but there
is little in the forest history literature that explains what the science
actually is. Forest knowledge has an ancient history documented since
classical times and applied within the intricate social and legal systems
of medieval Europe. This volume is concerned with the modern form of
forest science, founded in Europe early in the nineteenth century, when
regimes for managing the forests, that could be traced to the ancient
world and had flourished in the Middle Ages, were disrupted. New
ways had to be found.
Foresters have tried to know their forests scientifically for over three
centuries and have hoped to apply their knowledge to good effect, even
though they could not live to see the futures they envisioned. How far
did their scientific understanding enable a sylvan future? What, over
the three centuries discussed in this book, were their successes and
failures? And now what might the future hold for forest science and
its application? This is no tale of triumph: the outlook for the world's
forests is too bleak for that. While many forests are flourishing, the
climate is changing, tropical forests are disappearing, others are
degrading, species are being lost, governments dither, international
conferences fail. This is another, longer story - one of inquiry, of
science and persistent endeavour to find a better future for the forests.