Wood-based panels
New tundra study from Sweden
Properties of Philippines tree species
Bibliography of improved wood
Forestry glossaries
The forest's bottom line
Surveying forest biology
Pulp and paper publications
Plant genetics in 1979
Biosphere banking
African future
The child's world in sub-Saharan Africa
Update on SCOPE Report
What is appropriate technology?
MAB in Indonesia
Guidelines for Mediterranean Action Plan
Journals dealing with tropical forests
Helsinki wood-based panels symposium. Proceedings of 12-16 May 1980 in Helsinki organized by the UN/ECE Timber Committee. Published by the Finnish Paper and Timber Journal, Helsinki, 1980. 300 p. Prices: US$32.00 or £14.00.
Much of this book is addressed to the concerns of the wood-based panel industry: the present state of affairs, future prospects, the supply-demand balance, development of new markets and products, product assortment, consumption patterns and trends, and new and potential applications.
A number of economic and technical problems are also considered, including management and planning, environmental protection, energy economy, supply of raw material, research and investments.
The papers are published in the original languages, meaning, for the most part, English, but there are also papers in French and Russian. Summaries are given in all three languages, but the conclusions and recommendations are in English.
Ecology of a Subarctic Mire. Edited by Mats Sonesson. Ecological Bulletins No. 30 Swedish Natural Science Research Council, Stockholm, 1980. 315 p. Price: US$30 including air-mail postage.
The tundra biome at Stordalen near Abisko in northern Sweden is one of 24 sites in various countries which was designated for further study in 196768 under the International Biological Programme (IBP) Tundra Biome Programme. Twenty-one of the sites are in the Northern Hemisphere, and eight of these are in the USSR. The site closest to the equator is Niwot Ridge in the Rocky Mountains, USA, with approximately the same latitude as Beijing or Sicily.
This newly released book contains 15 papers, each with a bibliography, as well as numerous photographs and charts concerning the Stordalen-Abisko site. Historically, the site has been used for reindeer husbandry, hunting and fishing, but demands for recreation and for mineral exploration, particularly oil, are creating new pressures on this and other fragile tundra sites.
A few of the papers are addressed to specific tundra plants and their characteristics, but most treat one element within the biome as a whole such as nitrogen cycling, thawing and freezing, climate, and supply and transport of mineral nutrients.
Guidelines for the improved utilization and marketing of tropical wood species. Prepared for FAO by Forest Products Research and Industries Development Commission (FORPRIDECOM) , NSDB College, Laguna, Philippines, 1980. 153 p. Softcover.
In the past two decades much has been learned about the once bewildering array of tree species of tropical forests. Uses and markets have been found for trees that were once left on the ground because they were unknown or considered worthless. Even so, the exploitation of forests as dense and varied as these still presents complex marketing and utilization problems.
Recognizing this, the FAO Committee on Forest Development in the Tropics called for a systematic evaluation and compilation of knowledge that has been accumulated over the last 20 years. The present volume focuses on some 400 species in the Philippines.
Phase I, the longest section of the book, groups species according to various properties such as bending, veneering, reactivity and spike-holding. In Phase II, wood property/use criteria are given and uniform methods are proposed by which to group wood species on the basis of end use. The implication of such species grouping upon timber grading is discussed in Phase III.
There are two very useful tables and two appendixes, one of which thoughtfully lists all species by scientific name, official common name, family and trade name. The book can be of use to timber companies, foresters, scientists in related fields, and even to laymen desiring to get some perspective on the complex tropical forestry picture.
Improved wood. Compiled by Anne Handley, Commonwealth Forestry Bureau. Published by Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal, United Kingdom, 1980. 35 p. Softcover. Price: £7.00 in UK, £8.40 outside.
Improved wood is an annotated bibliography compiled from Forestry abstracts (1974-79), Forest products abstracts (1978-79), Wood/plastic combinations (1968-73) and independent research. Entries from 49 different journals and periodicals are recorded; a list of these appears on the back page.
The annotations are straightforward and factual, averaging one paragraph. Entries are divided into 10 different categories: general, uses, physical and mechanical properties, resistance to biological attack, compressed wood, plasticizing agents, bulking agents, wood/plastic combinations, chemical modification of wood and comminuted wood/polymer materials. There is also an author index.
Forestry and forest products dictionaries, terminologies, glossaries and vocabularies. Compiled by Mirja Ruokonen, Common wealth Forestry Bureau. Published by Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal, United Kingdom, 1980. Softcover. 17 p.
This is an annotated bibliography of 1 36 dictionaries, terminologies, glossaries and vocabularies in the fields of forestry and forest products. It is part of a project sponsored by the forestry services of Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States to compile a "word list" of terms for the scientific and technical forestry literature in English.
The bibliography covers publications from 1973 to 1978 on many different forestry topics. Many of the entries provide glossaries in two or more different languages. There is, for example, a dictionary of cytogenetics defining l 244 terms in Czech, English, French, German and Russian.
Cost and financial accounting in forestry: a practical manual. By Keith Openshaw. Pergamon Press, Oxford, England. 1!380. 184 p. Softcover. Price: US$14.00.
Forest managers, whether public or private, cannot directly affect the prices of their products. They can, however, have a direct impact upon their costs. Says Keith Openshaw, "Without accurate costs, forward planning and budgeting may be meaningless and if expected returns are not calculated, commercial forestry enters the realm of faith."
It is a chief tenet of Openshaw's new book, Cost and financial accounting in forestry, that costs must be specific if they are to be meaningful at all, that is, if they are to be an accurate guide to the forest manager's management decisions. The book therefore attempts to be as specific as possible. In this it succeeds. But it is also complex and difficult-out of necessity. Few other businesses require such an extraordinarily long period between initial investment (i.e., planting) and profit taking (i.e., logging and selling). Keeping track of costs over this long period, while taking into account depreciation, inflation, capitalization values, overhead and direct unit costs, and discount rates, is, a formidable task.
If parts of the book are quite technical, requiring mathematical sophistication, they are also skippable. Openshaw provides the right kind of information for the manager to make decisions and for the economist or forester to understand the theoretical underpinnings. Three basic divisions are given: (l) the costing of forest operations; (2) the financial account; and (3) the financial yield.
The book: is filled with sample balance sheets, graphs, charts, lists, and other illustrative matter. So useful is this material that a reader can benefit from perusing these items without reading the text at all.
As the subtitle indicates, the book is a "practical manual," and is thus of most interest to those who own or manage commercial forest land. But a general reader could be enlightened with some careful skimming of the book. Forestry is a unique, complex and fascinating business, and Open-shaw's book demonstrates this very well.
Robert Wazeka
Rome
Introduction to forest biology. By Harold W. Hocker, Jr. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1979. Illustrations. 467 p. Price: US$21.95.
Introduction to forest biology is intended as a textbook to prepare the student for a course in silviculture. As such, it can be used in a one-semester course surveying forest genetics, physiology, soils, hydrology, ecology, entomology and pathology. The book also discusses the structure, development and reproduction of tree stands.
Although designed as an introductory text, Hocker's book often assumes a deeper knowledge of biology than many readers will have had. For this reason it might be seen more properly as an intermediate-level textbook. It could also be useful as a refresher for professional forest scientists.
1980 TAPPI Press Catalog. Published by the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, 1 Dunwoody Park Atlanta, Georgia 30338, USA. 51 pages.
This 51-page softcover publication includes: books and reports, training aids, proceedings, course and seminar notes, out-of-print publications, loose-leaf data, and other guides and books
Of particular interest to developing countries could be the section on training aids. TAPPI training aids consist of films, slides and cassette tapes. Sixteen such packages are listed, ranging in price from US$129.95 to $428.95.
One example of such a training aid is entitled "The Corrugator," which consists of 80 35 mm slides, a 16-minute synchronized cassette tape and a 12-page prepared script. It is designed for the novice and provides an orientation to terms and equipment used in the corrugating industry as well as a description of the corrugating machine.
Annual report 1979. International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, 1980. 98 p Softcover. Black-and-white photographs.
Founded in 1974, the International :Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) exists to promote an international network of genetic resources centres to further the collection, conservation, documentation, evaluation and use of plant germ-plasm. IBPGR works under the aegis of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) with its Secretariat provided by FAO.
The Annual report 1979 is more than merely an annual report; it is a comprehensive, up-to-date look at the entire field of plant genetics. As such, it is a good starting point for anyone interested in the field.
Following the section on the highlights of 1979 is a! crop-by-crop survey of the year's activities in cereals, food legumes, vegetables, fruits, roots and tubers, forages, trees and industrial crops. Next comes a section on regional activities followed by entries concerning conservation, training and administration. are nine appendixes, all addressing IBPGR's internal activities. Particularly useful is a 14-page section giving names and addresses of people on the various committees and working groups in addition to those on the IBPGR Board and Secretariat.
Banking on the biosphere. By Robert Stein and Brian Johnson. D.C. Heath & Co., Lexington, Massachusetts, USA, 1980. 203 p. Price: $19.50.
One of the suggestions made in this new book by Robert Stein and Brian Johnson is that the World Bank take the lead in organizing environmentally sound afforestation and reforestation projects that are suited to regional environmental and energy needs. Another is that the UN Development Programme is well positioned to foster environmental change because, the book finds, that organization is consciously and continuously reconsidering its purposes in response to political change. By contrast, Stein and Johnson charge that the very stability of a body such as the Organization of American States has entrenched the idea that nations should be self-sufficient in fossil fuels-an idea which has led to the neglect of funding for alternative energy projects.
Banking on the biosphere, as these examples show, is specific, critical and not afraid to make blunt recommendations. Barbara Ward, who wrote an introduction to the book, notes that it would be "repetitious" merely to cite past environmental disasters resulting from misapplied funding from international banks. "What has been too little considered," she writes, ". . . are viable solutions and necessary changes of tactics." This book, she believes, offers both.
The book argues that banks, if they reform, can have a catalytic effect on national development even with the constraints imposed by considerations of national sovereignty. While noting with approval that the World Bank has now launched a programme of small-scale rural development, the authors are critical of the continuing bias of banks toward "large urban infrastructure construction" such as roads, communications, power grids and water projects.
In its conclusion, the book, which was funded by the International Institute for Environment and Development, says that banks need to reform operating procedures for assessing and adjusting to all phases of a project cycle. They should also become "expert practitioners" of alternative forms of assessment and accountancy which integrate the long-term social and environmental effects of development projects into their forecasting.
Environment and development in Africa. United Nations Environment Programme and the Environment Training Programme (ENDA)/Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, 1980. c. 100 p. Price: c. $14.00
This soon-to-be-released book is a UNEP study of the future prospects for African development within an environmental framework. The book analyses specific components of this topic such as population increase, food supply, health, urbanization, industrialization, economics, technology, agricultural production, deforestation and desertification.
The child in the African environment. Edited by R.O. Ohuche and B. Otaala. United Nations Environment Programme/Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, 1980. c. 100 p.
Based on a study commissioned Jointly by UNEP and the Science Education Programme for Africa (SEPA), this forthcoming book attempts to present a true picture of the child's environment in sub-Saharan Africa. Topics covered include: physical and health environments, the social environment, educational and other services, and the intellectual, psychomotor and affective components of child development.
The conclusion includes "prospects," "observations," and "recommendations." Finally, there are three appendixes, one giving country-by-country statistics, a second estimating the population of children in the area and a third treating intellectual development.
Environmental impact assessment: principles and procedures. Edited R.E. Munn. John Wiley & Sons, West Sussex, United Kingdom, 2nd ea., 1979. 190 p. Price: £7.50.
In 1975 SCOPE issued a book on environmental impact assessment which attempted to synthesize environmental information from diverse scientific fields, identify gaps in knowledge and disseminate results. Its aim was to improve the scientific quality of procedures for preparing alternative environmental management strategies.
Since then many countries have adopted some form of environmental impact assessment. Significant advances have occurred and various lessons have been learned. It was thus decided to prepare a second edition of the SCOPE study which would emphasize these recent experiences in many different countries.
This book does more than that, however. It also tries to synthesize ongoing knowledge in scientific areas that have recently received more emphasis. These include biogeochemical cycles, dynamic changes and evolution of ecosystems, environmental impacts of human settlements, ecotoxicology, simulation modelling of environmental systems, environmental monitoring, communication of environmental information and the response and assessment by society.
Technology, development and the environment: a reappraisal. By A.K.N. Reddy. United Nations Environment Programme/ Pergamon Press, Oxford, England, 1979. 60 p.
A.K.N. Reddy of the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore looks at the problem of technology and the environment, and attempts to provide a methodology for the selection of environmentally sound and appropriate technologies. After beginning with criticisms of modern technology, Reddy then looks at examples of good technologies. There are also sections on conceptual clarification, criteria and constraints.
East Kalimantan-Proceedings of a workshop on the Indonesia MAB Project No. 1 in East Kalimantan, Samarinda, 23-27 March 1978. Indonesian Institute of Sciences, LIPI, Djakarta, Indonesia. 71 p.
These proceedings report on an Indonesia field project carried out under the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Project 1 on man's interaction with tropical forest ecosystems. The objectives of the workshop were to review existing research plans, to identify new problem areas for research and to obtain information and comments from private and governmental institutions in Indonesia and abroad.
Technical papers presented to the workshop are included in this volume. They address such subjects as the relations between conservation and development of biological resources, patterns and problems of human ecology and settlements in Kalimantan and Sumatra, the effects of timber camps on the economy of villages in the Berau area of Kalimantan, and implementation of MAB activities in East Kalimantan .
The workshop's conclusions and recommendations are included, as are suggestions for research topics and for research and implementation mechanisms.
Mediterranean Action Plan: principles and guidelines for the discharge of waste into the marine environment. Prepared in collaboration with the Institute of Sanitary Engineering Polytechnic of Milan, Italy. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe Copenhagen, Denmark, 1979. 506 pages.
The present volume, sponsored jointly by WHO and UNEP, is designed to assist those authorities responsible for negotiating and implementing a protocol for the protection of the Mediterranean against pollution from land-based sources. It provides, for example, principles and guidelines for the issuance of permits for the discharge of waste and other matter into the marine environment. Other material contained in this volume can be used for either ongoing or planned activities of the Mediterranean Action Plan.
Acta amazonica, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas de Amazonia, Estrada do Aleixo, Km 3.5, Caixa Postal 478, Manaus-Amazonas-Brasil; quarterly.
Avance Forestal, Editor, Resid. Samarkanda, No. 9, Sector Los Castaños, calle El Rosario 1 y 2 transv. Los Chorros, Caracas, Venezuela; published about twice a year.
Bano Biggyan Patrika, Forest :Research Institute, P.O. Box 273, Chittagong, Bangladesh; published in January and July.
Biotropica, Association for Tropical Biology, c/o Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560; quarterly.
Bois et forêts des tropiques, Centre technique forestier tropical, 45 bis, avenue de la Belle-Gabrielle, 94130 Nogent-sur-Marne, France; six issues per year.
Boletín del InstitutoLatino-Americano Forestal Latino-Americano de Investigación y Capacitación, Centro de Documentación y Publicaciones, Instituto Forestal Latino-Americano, Apartado 36, Mérida, Venezuela; published three times a year.
Bosques y Fauna, Av. Mexico, N° 190, Coyoacán 21, D.F., Mexico; six issues per year.
Brasil Florestal, Instituto Brasileiro de Desenvolvimento Florestal, Setor de Areas Isoladas L 4 Norte, 70.000 Brasilia-DF-Brasil; published three times a year.
Canopy, Forest Research Institute, Ministry of Natural Resources, College, Laguna, Philippines 3720; published monthly.
Ciencia Forestal, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Dirección Av. Progreso N° 5, Coyoacán 21, D.F., Mexico; six issues per year.
Commonwealth Forestry Review, Commonwealth Forestry Association, 11 Keble Road, Oxford, England; quarterly.
El Forestal, Dirección General Forestal, Apartado Postal 1336, Centro de los Heroes, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana; published two or three times a year.
Floresta, Centro de Pesquisas Florestais de Setor de Ciencias Agrárias, Caixa Postal, 2.959, Curittiba-Paraná-Brasil; published twice a year.
Indian Pulp & Paper, Circulation Dept, 15 India Exchange Place (third floor), Calcutta 700 001, India; six issues per year.
IPEF, Biblioteca, Esalq-Usp, Caixa Postal, 9, 13.400 Piracicaba, SP, Brasil; published twice a year.
Malaysian Forester, Business Manager, c/o Forest Research Institute, Kapong Selangor, Malaysia; quarterly.
México y sus bosques, Artículo 123 N° 129 Desp. 211, Mexico 1, D.F., Mexico; six issues per year.
Pakistan Journal of Forestry, Editor, P.O. Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar, N.W.F.P., Pakistan; quarterly.
Pterocarpus, Editor, UPLB College of Forestry, College, Laguna, Philippines 3720; published twice a year.
Revista Forestal del Peru, Apartado 456, Lima, Peru; published irregularly.
Revista Forestal Venezolana, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Mérida, Venezuela; published irregularly.
Rimba Indonesia, Editor, Forest Research Institute, Jalan Gunung Batu, P.O. Box 66, Bogor, Indonesia; published irregularly.
Silvicultura en São Paulo, Instituto Florestal, Caixa Postal 1.322, São Paulo, 01000 SP, Brasil; published irregularly.
Sri Lanka Forester, Editorial Office, Forest Department, P.O. Box 509, Colombo 2, Sri Lanka (Ceylon); published once a year.
Sylvatrop, Forest Research Institute, Dept of Natural Resources, College, Laguna, Philippines 3720; quarterly.
Tropical ecology, members/institutions from North and South American countries contact Dr. W.J. Hoe, Asst Secy, ISTE, Dept of Botany, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822. Members/institutions from all other countries contact Dr. R.R. Das, Treasurer, ISTE, School of Studies in Botany, Jiwaji University, Gwalior 474002, India; published twice a year, but lately irregularly.
Turrialba, Editor, Instituto Inter-americano de Ciencias Agricolas (OEA/OAS), Apartado 10281, San Jose, Costa Rica; quarterly.
Vanasarn, Editor, Royal Forest Dept, Bangkok 9, Thailand; quarterly.
Venezuela Forestal, Compañía Nacional de Reforestación (CONARE), Avenida Andrés Bello, Edificio Centro Andrés Bello, 7° Piso, Torre Oeste N° 73-0, Caracas, Venezuela; quarterly.
among the FAO technical papers . . .
a continuously expanding list of studies dealing with specific problems of forestry. Many of these papers are available in all three languages - English, French and Spanish. All are available, on payment of handling charges, from the Distribution and Sales Section FAO, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100, Rome; or through l the authorized sales agents and booksellers listed on the inside back cover.
