I am a retired USDA Forest Service scientist, and am the senior author of the book THE ECOLOGY AND SILVICULTURE OF OAKS. I have also authored many other scientific and technical publications about oak forests. My other interests include outdoor photography. Subjects include midwestern landscapes, forests, and the plants and animals that live there.ABOUT 'THE ECOLOGY AND SILVICULTURE OF OAKS' by Paul S. Johnson, Stephen R. Shifley and Robert RogersThe second edition of the book was released this fall (2009). Like the first edition,the new edition is directed to forest and wildlife managers, ecologists, silviculturists, environmentalists, students of those fields, and others interested in sustaining oak forests for their many tangible and intangible values. The focus is on the oaks of the USA. Although the approach is fundamentally silvicultural, it is based on the premise that effective and environmentally sound management and protection of oak forests and associated landscapes should be grounded in ecological understanding. Although the subject is inherently scientific and technical, we have striven to make it generally accessible by miminizing the use of technical jargon. Where technical terms are necessary for efficient expression of concepts, we have first defined them.The new edition includes information published since the first edition (2002). Included are new sections on oak biomass for fuel, carbon sequestration by oaks, and how climate change is expected to affect the distribution of oaks and associated tree species. We have updated many of the topic areas presented in the first edition, but in doing so have retained the approach and focus of the well-received first edition.