Something Hidden in the Ranges: The Secret Life of Mountain Ecosystems - Softcover

Ellen Wohl (author)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0870711059 ISBN 13: 9780870711053

Publisher: Oregon State University Press, 2021

Synopsis

Something Hidden in the Ranges is designed for readers interested in natural and environmental history and specifically the natural history of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. We all see the largest features of ecosystems - the impressively rugged mountain peaks, the clear blue lakes, and the extensive forests - but each of these readily visible features depends on largely invisible creatures and flows of material and energy. This book draws on a wide array of scientific research to tell stories such as how streams provide energy to the adjacent forest, how lake sediments record the history of pollutants entering the lake with wind-blown dust, and how a network of fungi keeps forests healthy. Individual chapters explore forests at lower and higher elevations and how trees rely on microbes in the soil, in the forest canopy, and even within individual pine needles to obtain the food they need.  Other chapters focus on subalpine lakes, mountain streams, beaver meadows, and alpine tundra. Written to be easily understood by any reader, this book will change the way you perceive and think about natural landscapes.

About this title

About the Author

Ellen Wohl grew up in northern Ohio, where she became fascinated with the natural world in early childhood. Family trips to the western US introduced her to the Rockies and, after finishing undergraduate and graduate degrees in geology, she joined the faculty of Colorado State University. Rocky Mountain National Park is close to her home and she has been investigating streams there and in other parts of the Rockies for three decades. She has also conducted field research on every continent except Antarctica.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oregon State University Press
• Publication date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870711059
• ISBN 13: 9780870711053
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176