Spring Fever: Precarious Future of Britain's Flora and Fauna

by PhilipGates (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  1992

  $3.38

  Never before has the fragile harmony of our natural world been in such jeopardy. Long-established threats are being fermented by climatic change, and our living environment is being transformed so rapidly that within the space of a single human lifetime, Britain's gardens, woods, parks and fields may become almost unrecognizable. Such change, although disturbing, can also be welcomed. Though native species are at risk, our flora and fauna will be enriched by arrivals from overseas. The bluebell may decline, but peaches and grapes will thrive. Some pests will multiply, but so will butterflies. The colour of the countryside will change with new crops, and lawns and hedges will grow all year round as the south of England takes on a Mediterranean character. This book brings the natural environment, in all its aspects, vividly to life, setting it in the context of past as well as future change, and unravelling brilliantly the patterns that connect such things as climate with the spread of weeds, and wind patterns with insects on the forest floor.