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andrewspink's review
4.0
This is a remarkable book in a number of ways. Most importantly, although the author is a philosopher, he has an accurate grasp of ecological theory and is able to explain it clearly. I worked as a researcher in plant ecology for ten years, and sometimes it is quite irritating to read books about nature conservation by people who just don't understand how ecosystems work. This means that the book both describes different philosophies clearly and provides a good theoretical framework for that (in a manner understandable for someone without that background like myself) as well as a solid ecological framework. Having clear explanations is not the same as being easy reading.
The author makes us work hard, not shunning a high information density and plenty of primary references, but also keeps the narrative going with enough anecdotes and examples. Another plus was although Jozef Keulartz focusses on the situation in the Netherlands, he also has a very international perspective and writes about plenty of examples and ideas from other countries and continents.
Finally, he is skilled in presenting two points of view equally faithfully and compellingly before either coming to a conclusion or leaving the reader to make their own conclusions. In an area of heated debate like nature conservation, it is all too frequent that people don't take the other 'side' seriously.
The only chapter I was less happy with was the one on exotics. He portrays ecologists who warn of dangers from populations of non-native plants and animals of having an essentially racist philosophy, that the indigenous species are inherently more worthy. Whilst I'm sure the examples he cites are true, I do think that in many cases it is simply a case that anyone working in the field will have seen at first hand the problems caused by exotic invasions. For example, the water plant Crassula will establish readily in ponds and within a short period of time a species rich ecosystem will have been transformed to a monoculture of Crassula. This is often caused by a lack of herbivores (for the plants) or predators (for the animals) in the new habitat which the exotics find themselves in. If the exotics don't cause a problem then no one minds, for example the vernal bulbs in Dutch woodlands (snowdrops, crocuses, etc, stinzelflora) are largely non-native and greatly appreciated.
But aside from minor quibbles like that, this is a very interesting and well-written book.
The author makes us work hard, not shunning a high information density and plenty of primary references, but also keeps the narrative going with enough anecdotes and examples. Another plus was although Jozef Keulartz focusses on the situation in the Netherlands, he also has a very international perspective and writes about plenty of examples and ideas from other countries and continents.
Finally, he is skilled in presenting two points of view equally faithfully and compellingly before either coming to a conclusion or leaving the reader to make their own conclusions. In an area of heated debate like nature conservation, it is all too frequent that people don't take the other 'side' seriously.
The only chapter I was less happy with was the one on exotics. He portrays ecologists who warn of dangers from populations of non-native plants and animals of having an essentially racist philosophy, that the indigenous species are inherently more worthy. Whilst I'm sure the examples he cites are true, I do think that in many cases it is simply a case that anyone working in the field will have seen at first hand the problems caused by exotic invasions. For example, the water plant Crassula will establish readily in ponds and within a short period of time a species rich ecosystem will have been transformed to a monoculture of Crassula. This is often caused by a lack of herbivores (for the plants) or predators (for the animals) in the new habitat which the exotics find themselves in. If the exotics don't cause a problem then no one minds, for example the vernal bulbs in Dutch woodlands (snowdrops, crocuses, etc, stinzelflora) are largely non-native and greatly appreciated.
But aside from minor quibbles like that, this is a very interesting and well-written book.
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