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 ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
FOREST ECOLOGY

This comprehensive handbook provides a unique resource covering all aspects of forest ecology
from a global perspective. It covers both natural and managed forests, from boreal, temperate,
subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The book is divided into seven parts addressing
the following themes:

• forest types
• forest dynamics
• forest flora and fauna
• energy and nutrients
• forest conservation and management
• forests and climate change
• human impacts on forest ecology.

While each chapter can stand alone as a suitable resource for a lecture or seminar, the complete
book provides an essential reference text for a wide range of students of ecology, environmental
science, forestry, geography and natural resource management. Contributors include leading
authorities from all parts of the world.

Kelvin S.-H. Peh is Lecturer in the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University
of Southampton, and also Visiting Fellow in the Department of Zoology, University of
Cambridge, UK.

Richard T. Corlett is Professor and Director of the Centre for Integrative Conservation,
Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yunnan, China. He
was previously a professor at the National University of Singapore and the University of Hong
Kong.

Yves Bergeron is Professor of Forest Ecology and Management at Université du Québec en

Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada.
This page intentionally left blank
ROUTLEDGE HANDBOOK OF
FOREST ECOLOGY

Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Richard T. Corlett

and Yves Bergeron
First published 2015
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Richard T. Corlett and Yves Bergeron,
selection and editorial material; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the
authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78
of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Routledge handbook of forest ecology / [edited by] Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Richard T. Corlett, and
Yves Bergeron.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-415-73545-2 (hbk) -- ISBN 978-1-315-81829-0 (ebk) 1. Forest ecology.
2. Forests and forestry. I. Peh, Kelvin S.-H. II. Corlett, Richard. III. Bergeron, Yves, 1956-
QH541.5.F6R68 2015
577.3--dc23
2015011684

ISBN: 978-0-415-73545-2 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-81829-0 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo
by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
 CONTENTS

Contributors xi

1 Introduction 1
Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Yves Bergeron and Richard T. Corlett

PART I
The forest 5

2 Boreal forests 7
Jean-Pierre Saucier, Ken Baldwin, Pavel Krestov and Torre Jorgenson

3 Northern temperate forests 30

Lee E. Frelich, Rebecca A. Montgomery and Jacek Oleksyn

4 Subtropical forests 46
Richard T. Corlett and Alice C. Hughes

5 Tropical forests 56
Lindsay F. Banin, Oliver L. Phillips and Simon L. Lewis

6 Managed forests 75
Jürgen Bauhus and Patrick Pyttel

v
 Contents

PART II
Forest dynamics 91

7 Insect disturbances in forest ecosystems 93

Daniel Kneeshaw, Brian R. Sturtevant, Barry Cooke, Timothy Work,
Deepa Pureswaran, Louis DeGrandpre and David A. MacLean

8 The role of fire in forest ecosystems 114

David F. Greene and Sean T. Michaletz

9 Ecological effects of strong winds on forests 127

Stephen M. Turton and Mohammed Alamgir

10 Forest succession and gap dynamics 141

Rebecca A. Montgomery and Lee E. Frelich

11 Tree genetic diversity and gene flow in forest ecosystems 154

Francine Tremblay

12 Changing forest dynamics: plot-based evidence 172

Simon Willcock and Nikée E. Groot

PART III
Forest flora and fauna 183

13 Lianas in forest ecosystems 185

Stefan A. Schnitzer

14 Vascular epiphytes in forest ecosystems 198

David H. Benzing

15 Insects in forest ecosystems 215

Andrea Battisti

16 Pathogens and pests in North American forest ecosystems 226

Louis Bernier and Sandy M. Smith

17 Bryophytes in forest ecosystems 239

Nicole J. Fenton, Kristoffer Hylander and Emma J. Pharo

18 Lichens in forest ecosystems 250

Per-Anders Esseen and Darwyn Coxson

vi
 Contents

19 Mammals in forest ecosystems 264

Richard T. Corlett and Alice C. Hughes

20 Birds in forest ecosystems 279

Jeffrey A. Stratford and Çağan H. Şekercioğlu

21 Global patterns of biodiversity in forests 295

Christine B. Schmitt

PART IV
Energy and nutrients 307

22 Mycorrhizal symbiosis in forest ecosystems 309

Leho Tedersoo

23 Biogeochemical cycling 325

David Paré, Daniel Markewitz and Håkan Wallander

24 Hydrological cycling 339

Michael Bredemeier and Shabtai Cohen

25 Primary production and allocation 352

Frank Berninger, Kelvin S.-H. Peh and Hazel K. Smith

PART V
Forest conservation and management 369

26 Natural regeneration after harvesting 371

Nelson Thiffault, Lluís Coll and Douglass F. Jacobs

27 Tropical deforestation, forest degradation and REDD+ 385

John A. Parrotta

28 Restoration of forest ecosystems 397

David Lamb

29 Forest fragmentation 411

Edgar C. Turner and Jake L. Snaddon

30 Ecological effects of logging and approaches to mitigating impacts 422

Paul Woodcock, Panu Halme and David P. Edwards

vii
 Contents

31 Pollution in forests 436

Mikhail V. Kozlov and Elena L. Zvereva

32 Biological invasions in forests and forest plantations 452

Marcel Rejmánek

PART VI
Forest and climate change 471

33 Fire and climate: using the past to predict the future 473
Justin Waito, Martin P. Girardin, Jacques C. Tardif, Christelle Hély,
Olivier Blarquez and Adam A. Ali

34 Ecological consequences of droughts in boreal forests 488

Changhui Peng

35 Assessing responses of tree growth to climate change at inter-

and intra-annual temporal scale 499
Sergio Rossi, Jian-Guo Huang and Hubert Morin

36 Plant movements in response to rapid climate change 517

Richard T. Corlett

37 Forest carbon budgets and climate change 527

Yadvinder Malhi, Sam Moore and Terhi Riutta

38 Modelling climate impacts on forest ecosystems 544

David R. Galbraith and Bradley O. Christoffersen

PART VII
Human ecology 557

39 Multiple roles of non-timber forest products in ecologies, economies

and livelihoods 559
Charlie M. Shackleton

40 Agriculture in the forest: ecology and rationale of shifting cultivation 571

Olivier Ducourtieux

41 Indigenous forest knowledge 586

Hugo Asselin

viii
 Contents

42 Recreation in forests 597

Bruce Prideaux

43 Impacts of hunting in forests 610

Rhett D. Harrison

44 The ecology of urban forests 623

Mark J. McDonnell and Dave Kendal

Index 634

ix
This page intentionally left blank
 CONTRIBUTORS

Mohammed Alamgir; Doctoral Researcher, Centre for Tropical Environmental and

Sustainability Science, James Cook University, Australia

Adam A. Ali; Assistant Professor, Université de Montpellier, Institut des Sciences de

l’Évolution – Montpellier, UMR 5554, France

Hugo Asselin; Professor, Department of Humanities and Social Development, Université du

Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Canada

Ken Baldwin; Forest Ecologist, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Canada

Lindsay F. Banin; Statistical Ecologist, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, UK

Andrea Battisti; Professor, Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and
the Environment, University of Padova, Italy

Jürgen Bauhus; Professor, Chair of Silviculture, University of Freiburg, Germany

David H. Benzing; Emeritus Professor, Department of Biology, Oberlin College, USA

Yves Bergeron; Professor, Department of Applied Sciences, Université du Québec en

Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Canada

Louis Bernier; Professor, Forest Research Institute, Université du Québec en Abitibi-

Témiscamingue, Canada

Frank Berninger; Lecturer, Department of Forest Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland

Olivier Blarquez; Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Université de Montréal,

Canada

xi
 Contributors

Michael Bredemeier; Professor, University of Gottingen, Germany

Bradley O. Christoffersen; Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Geosciences, University of

Edinburgh, UK

Shabtai Cohen; Senior Research Scientist, Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental
Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), Volcani Center, Israel

Lluís Coll; Research Scientist, Forest Sciences Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Spain

Barry Cooke; Research Scientist, Northern Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada,
Canadian Forest Service, Canada

Richard T. Corlett; Professor, Centre for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical

Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Darwyn Coxson; Professor, Ecosystem Science and Management Program, University of

Northern British Colombia, Canada

Louis DeGrandpre; Research Scientist, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources

Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Canada

Olivier Ducourtieux; Lecturer, UFR Comparative Agriculture, UMR Prodig, AgroParisTech,

France

David P. Edwards; Lecturer, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of

Sheffield, UK

Per-Anders Esseen; Professor, Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå

University, Sweden

Nicole J. Fenton; Professor, Forest Research Institute, Université du Québec en Abitibi-

Témiscamingue, Canada

Lee E. Frelich; Director, Center for Forest Ecology, University of Minnesota, USA

David R. Galbraith; Lecturer, School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK

Martin P. Girardin; Research Scientist, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources

Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Canada

David F. Greene; Professor, Chair, Department of Forestry and Wildland Resources,

Humboldt State University, USA

Nikée E. Groot; Doctoral Researcher, School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK

Panu Halme; Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Biological and Environmental

Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

xii
 Contributors

Rhett D. Harrison; Professor, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Kunming, China

Christelle Hély; Director of Studies, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Institut des Sciences
de l’Évolution - Montpellier, UMR 5554, France

Jian-Guo Huang; Professor, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of

Degraded Ecosystems, Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany South China Botanical
Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Alice C. Hughes; Associate Professor, Centre for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna

Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Kristoffer Hylander; Professor, Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences,

Stockholm University, Sweden

Douglass F. Jacobs; Professor, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue

University, USA

Torre Jorgenson; Landscape Ecologist, Alaska Ecoscience, USA

Dave Kendal; Ecologist, Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Royal Botanic
Gardens Victoria and University of Melbourne, Australia

Daniel Kneeshaw; Professor, Centre d’étude de la forêt et Département des sciences

biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Mikhail V. Kozlov; Adjunct Professor, Section of Ecology, Department of Biology,

University of Turku, Finland

Pavel Krestov; Director, Biogeographer and Vegetation Ecologist, Botanical Garden-Institute

of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Vladivostok, Russia

David Lamb; Honorary Research Fellow, School of Agriculture and Food Sciences and
Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, University of Queensland, Australia

Simon L. Lewis; Reader, Department of Geography, University College London, UK

Mark J. McDonnell; Director, Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Royal Botanic
Gardens Victoria and Associate Professor, University of Melbourne, Australia

David (Dave) MacLean; Professor, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management,

University of New Brunswick, Canada

Yadvinder Malhi; Professor, Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the
Environment, University of Oxford, UK

Daniel Markewitz; Professor, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University
of Georgia, USA

xiii
 Contributors

Sean T. Michaletz; Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary

Biology, University of Arizona, USA

Rebecca A. Montgomery; Associate Professor, Department of Forest Resources, University

of Minnesota, USA

Sam Moore; Postdoctoral Researcher, Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography

and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK

Hubert Morin; Professor, Department of Fundamental Sciences, Université du Québec à

Chicoutimi, Canada

Jacek Oleksyn; Professor, Polish Academy of Sciences, Institute of Dendrology, Kornik,

Poland

David Paré; Research Scientist, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources Canada,
Canadian Forest Service, Canada

John A. Parrotta; Program Leader for International Science Issues, U.S. Forest Service
Research and Development, USA

Kelvin S.-H. Peh; Lecturer, Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton and
Visiting Fellow, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK

Changhui Peng; Professor, Department of Biology, Institute of Environment Sciences,

Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada

Emma J. Pharo; Senior Lecturer, School of Land and Food, University of Tasmania, Australia

Oliver L. Phillips; Professor, School of Geography, University of Leeds, UK

Bruce Prideaux; Professor, School of Business and Law, CQUniversity, Australia

Deepa Pureswaran; Research Scientist, Laurentian Forestry Centre, Natural Resources

Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Canada

Patrick Pyttel; Researcher and Lecturer, Chair of Silviculture, University of Freiburg,

Germany

Marcel Rejmánek; Professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California

Davis, USA

Terhi Riutta; Postdoctoral Researcher, Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography

and the Environment, University of Oxford, UK

Sergio Rossi; Professor, Department of Fundamental Sciences, Université du Québec à

Chicoutimi, Canada

xiv
 Contributors

Jean-Pierre Saucier; Directeur p. i. et Chef du Service de la sylviculture et rendement des

forêts, Direction de la recherche forestière, Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du
Québec, Canada

Christine B. Schmitt; Assistant Professor, Chair for Landscape Management, University of

Freiburg, Germany

Stefan A. Schnitzer; Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University,

USA

Çağan H. Şekercioğlu; Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, University of Utah, USA

Charlie M. Shackleton; Research Professor, Department of Environmental Science, Rhodes

University, South Africa

Hazel K. Smith; Research Fellow, Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton,
UK

Sandy M. Smith; Professor, Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Canada

Jake L. Snaddon; Lecturer, Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, UK

Jeffrey A. Stratford; Associate Professor, Department of Biology and Health Sciences, Wilkes
University, USA

Brian R. Sturtevant; Research Ecologist, Northern Research Station, United States

Department of Agriculture Forest Service, USA

Jacques C. Tardif; Professor, Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR),

Department of Biology, The University of Winnipeg, Canada

Leho Tedersoo; Senior Researcher, Natural History Museum and Botanical Garden, Tartu
University, Estonia

Nelson Thiffault; Research Scientist, Direction de la recherche forestière, Ministère des

Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec, Canada

Francine Tremblay; Research Professor, Forest Research Institute (IRF), Université du

Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Canada

Edgar C. (Ed) Turner; Academic Director and Teaching Officer in Biological Sciences,
Institute of Continuing Education and Post-doctoral Researcher, Department of Zoology,
University of Cambridge, UK

Stephen M. Turton; Professor, Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science,
James Cook University, Australia

xv
 Contributors

Justin Waito; Researcher, Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research (C-FIR), Department
of Biology, The University of Winnipeg, Canada

Håkan Wallander; Professor, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sweden

Simon Willcock; Research Fellow, Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton,
UK

Paul Woodcock; Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Biological Sciences, University of

Leeds, UK

Timothy Work; Entomologist, Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec

à Montréal, Canada

Elena L. Zvereva; Adjunct Professor, Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University

of Turku, Finland

xvi
 1
INTRODUCTION
Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Yves Bergeron and Richard T. Corlett

Forests are stupendous systems. Since the first trees appeared on Earth in the Late Devonian,
390 million years ago, the complex three-dimensional structure of forests has supported the
majority of terrestrial species on Earth and this is still true today. We ourselves evolved from a
predominantly forest lineage, but the first humans occupied more open habitats and this non-
forest origin is reflected in our ambiguous relationship with forests. On the one hand, this
relationship until now has been largely destructive, with forests valued most as a source of land
for cultivation, and for timber and bushmeat. On the other hand, on a crowded planet we
increasingly value the services that forests can provide: clean water, erosion control, and the
amelioration of local, regional and global climates. Forests are also important for recreation, and
as sources of artistic and spiritual inspiration. Reconciling these incompatible objectives will
require both a better understanding of forest ecology and a wider awareness of the multiple
values of forests. We hope this book will contribute to both these aims.
Our forest systems today – unfortunately – are facing a suite of global challenges. Deforestation
and forest degradation, biological invasions, excessive and often illegal harvesting of forest
products, atmospheric pollution and climate change – to name only the biggest challenges – are
impacting our forests in a profound way, and we are still learning how these systems are actually
coping. Deforestation has emerged as one of the most damaging problems, as large areas are
cleared and converted into agricultural land and livestock ranches to feed an ever-growing
population, particularly in the tropics. Large-scale production of biofuels poses a potential
additional threat. Climate change, which results in increasingly extreme weather, has also
emerged as equally detrimental, leaving its mark on our forests in diverse ways – from erosive
floods and deadly droughts to vanishing coastal mangrove habitats. Worse still, these
environmental challenges seldom act alone, but also occur together, simultaneously and interact
to further aggravate the problems, thereby putting an unprecedented pressure on the forest
biodiversity and function. Policy-makers involved in ongoing international agreements, such as
the Convention on Biological Diversity, and practitioners in international programmes, such as
the United Nations’ collaborative initiative in reducing emissions from deforestation and forest
degradation (REDD), are seeking practicable solutions. Again, there is a need to provide to a
wider audience reliable information on forests, their dynamics, biodiversity and responses to
human disturbance and climate change, as well as the applications of ecology in the management
and mitigation of these global challenges.

1
 Kelvin S.-H. Peh, Yves Bergeron et al.

This handbook aims to act as a state-of-the-art summary of our current knowledge of forest
ecology. It draws on the expertise of a varied international team of authors, many of whom are
experts in their respective field, or practitioners with rich experience in forestry. It aims to be
an informative, up-to-date resource on the literature on forests and their ecology under
environmental change. The handbook does not promote any particular viewpoint, management
practice or conservation approach. Instead, it covers a broad range of subjects subsumed under
the realm of forest ecology, and offers a comprehensive overview for each of these topics. Most
chapters aim for a global coverage as much as practicably possible, but others focus on the
region where the subject is most relevant or has received most attention. By presenting each
topic across different geographical areas – or at least those biomes whose processes are
significantly different – and cross-comparing them as appropriate, we aim to give readers a
unique perspective.
The work is grouped around seven parts. The first section of the handbook, ‘The forest’, is
intended to help define different major forest biomes loosely according to latitudinal belts. The
forest types covered are: boreal forests, northern temperate forests, subtropical forests, tropical
forests and managed forests. These chapters provide an introductory overview setting out
definitions, scopes and different forest types within each major forest biome. Thus, Part I
provides a primer on the forest systems from five different forest biomes which provide the
framework for understanding the other themes. The list of forest biomes covered is not
exhaustive, in that we do not cover some important topics such as the southern temperate
forests and the mountain forests. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the forest biomes are
discussed in this section.
Part II, ‘Forest dynamics’, includes a series of chapters that explore the impacts of different
disturbances – namely insects, fire and strong winds – on forests. The common theme in this
section is that the forest systems often show resistance and resilience to perturbation and
apparently are able to recover from disturbances. However, disturbances may exceed a critical
level whereby systems rapidly and irreversibly collapse, and it is important to understand the
basis for such tipping points, the circumstances under which such phenomena may be reached
and how to prevent reaching them. This section also includes chapters that discuss how the
biological factors, scaled from genes up to a community of hundreds of interacting species,
shape and change the forests.
Part III is intended to showcase the rich biodiversity of the forests. Natural history is needed
to support the understanding of major ecological processes. This section therefore concerns the
ecology of important taxa such as lianas, vascular epiphytes, bryophytes, lichens, insects,
mammals and birds. It also includes a brief introduction to the microbial pathogens and insect
pests – the major agents of biological disturbances in both natural and managed forests. As
forests harbour a huge variety of organisms, we acknowledge that the taxa discussed in this
section cannot be comprehensive; for example, reptiles and amphibians are not covered.
Nevertheless, this section ends with a concluding chapter that provides a global perspective on
forest biodiversity, evaluating our current knowledge of species diversity in our global forests.
In Part IV, the chapters focus on the complexity of some important ecological functions that
ensure energy and nutrients are acquired, utilised and recovered in a clockwork fashion. Any
missing components – for instance, mycorrhizal associations – will dramatically jeopardise the
net primary productivity. Likewise, any processes that are slowed down will be further
diminished by a negative feedback mechanism. For example, a slower rate of nutrient cycling
will substantially reduce the net primary productivity, in turn lowering plant nutrient availability
and exacerbating the effects of nutrient limitations. These chapters invite the reader to appreciate
the fragility of our forest systems. This section therefore builds an ecological perspective of

2
 Introduction

sheer complexity in the engineering of the forests as whole systems that provide an essential
foundation supporting all life.
The chapters in Part V examine the ecology behind some of the cross-cutting anthropogenic
threats and some conservation approaches that inform policy and management practices. All
subjects covered in these chapters either play an important ecological role in restoring the forest
systems or are significant challenges that place obstacles in the path of preserving their
biodiversity and function. We admittedly consider these issues in separate chapters, rather than
simultaneously, although our ability to manage the forests will increasingly require an
understanding of the synergistic effects of multiple challenges.
Climate change is the focus of Part VI. This part includes a series of chapters that explore
the impact of different climate change phenomena, such as fire and drought. But the list of
major global threats due to climate change is not exhaustive, for we do not cover topics such
as the rising sea level and its impact on coastal and insular forests, which can be profound, or
the impact of increased heavy precipitation events over forested areas. As in the previous
section, we consider these threats caused by climate change one at a time, but the last chapter
of this section shows how large-scale modelling approaches can help provide an integrated
understanding of multiple global threats.
The final part of the handbook examines the direct use of forests by people and its impact
in a wider context of maintaining or sustaining the forests’ capacity to provide ecosystem
services. The chapters within this section discuss some major services which the forests
contribute – such as the provision of timber and non-timber forest products, and areas for
productive cultivation and nature-based recreation, which includes urban tree-dominated
‘green spaces’ and forests for recreational hunting. Together these chapters summarise the
connections between human well-being and the health of our global forests.
Like all works of this kind, the handbook represents a balance between the need to
disseminate further knowledge, and the imperative of not missing the narrative in a welter of
details. The intent for this volume is to be an authoritative text, yet at the same time appealing
to the layperson interested in an introduction to forest ecology, as well as providing graduate
students with a comprehensive collection of current research for further examination and
discourse on the subject. Our aim is also to narrate the ecology behind some of the current
approaches and trends in forest management to conservation practitioners. We are thankful to
every contributor to this volume for sharing their cutting-edge knowledge. Lastly, we are also
grateful to a team of outstanding anonymous reviewers for their time and hard work. For their
concerns, criticisms, feedback and suggestions have also helped us bring this handbook to a
higher level.

3
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 PART I

The forest
This page intentionally left blank
 2
BOREAL FORESTS
Jean-Pierre Saucier, Ken Baldwin, Pavel Krestov and Torre Jorgenson

The boreal biome is one of the largest forested biomes on Earth and forms a circumpolar belt
of forests and woodlands between the treeless arctic zone and the temperate zone. It is typically
characterized by a cold continental climate with relatively short, mild summers and long, cold
winters. About one-third of the biome occurs in the zone of permafrost (Brown et al. 1997).
Boreal forests and woodlands represent approximately 33 per cent of the world’s forested area
(FAO 2001). Boreal forests are dominated by a relatively few, primarily coniferous, genera
(Picea, Abies, Larix, Pinus) that are adapted to cold temperatures, low nutrient conditions and
recurrent stand-replacing disturbance. Short growing seasons and cold, acidic mineral soils
under conifer canopies result in extensive feathermoss carpets on upland sites. Sphagnum
mosses occupy landscape positions with permanently high water tables, resulting in acidic
organic soils that often develop into peatlands. On both upland and lowland sites, decomposition
rates are slow and nutrient cycling is typically restricted to the upper soil layers where oxygen
and increased temperatures support microorganism and fungal metabolism. Understory
vegetation of boreal forests is also dominated by a relatively few botanical families, especially
the Ericaceae (the heath or blueberry family) which is adapted to cold, nutrient impoverished
habitat conditions. With proximity to the oceans, winters become milder and summers cooler;
snow covers the ground for longer periods and the growing season is shortened. In these
oceanic boreal climates, conifers are generally absent and are replaced by birch (Betula spp.),
alder (Alnus spp.) or ericaceous shrublands that can tolerate such harsh conditions.

Extent of the boreal zone

The boreal zone is the northernmost forest zone and forms a large belt of forests and woodlands
between latitudes 42°N and 72°N (Rivas-Martínez et al. 2011) (Figure 2.1). It covers
approximately 12.1 million km2 (Kuusela 1992) and represents 8.4 per cent of the surface of the
earth. Boreal forests are also called taiga.
The boreal zone covers large areas of North America, Europe and Russia. In North America,
boreal forests extend from Alaska (USA) through Canada to Labrador and the island of
Newfoundland. In Europe, boreal forests occupy most of the areas of Sweden and Finland, a
lesser part of Norway, Russian Karelia and east to the Ural Mountains. In Asia, the boreal zone
stretches from the Ural Mountains eastward through Siberia and the Kamchatka Peninsula

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 Jean-Pierre Saucier, Ken Baldwin et al.

Figure 2.1 Extent of boreal forests and woodlands around the globe, with floristic subdivisions and
non-forest boreal vegetation zones

to the Pacific coast. Boreal vegetation also covers some islands in the Atlantic (Iceland, Faroe
Islands and the southernmost part of Greenland) and in the Pacific (Kuril and Aleutian island
chains). Closed forest covers 76 per cent of the boreal zone, while commercially exploitable
closed forest occupies about 53 per cent of the total area (Table 2.1).
The northern limit between the boreal zone and the arctic zone is the continental treeline
(i.e., the edge of the habitat in which trees are capable of growing). Moving northward from
closed forests through open forests and woodlands, climatic and/or site conditions eventually
become too harsh (cold, dry, windy, infertile) to support tree growth. Trees are replaced by
low or prostrate shrubs, especially dwarf ericaceous, birch and willow species, together with
herbs, mosses and lichens as forest and woodland gradually changes to arctic tundra.
The southern boundary of the boreal zone is less obvious as it is based on vegetation
physiognomy, species composition and ecosystem dominance on the landscape. This boundary
represents a gradual shift of forest composition where, moving southward, thermophilous
species replace the boreal species (Brandt 2009). It is usually marked by a change from a
coniferous dominated landscape, associated with a cold climate, to a mixed forest landscape
with a milder climate (see next section). In certain areas, with soils of variable fertility and very
dry climate, the boreal forest is replaced by steppe at its southern margin.

8
 Boreal forests

Table 2.1 A
 rea of boreal forests and woodlands by country and proportion of the country in closed
forest or exploitable closed forest (adapted from Kuusela 1992)

Area of forest and other wooded land within the boreal zone (million km2)

Russia Alaska Canada Norway Sweden Finland Total

Area (million km2) 7.90 0.46 3.27 0.07 0.21 0.23 12.14
Proportion of the total 65.1% 3.8% 26.9% 0.6% 1.8% 1.9% 100.0%
Proportion of the boreal zone covered by closed forest or exploitable closed forest
Closed forest 85.2% 10.9% 60.6% 84.3% 86.0% 85.9% 75.8%
Exploitable closed forest 57.0% 10.9% 44.0% 72.9% 75.2% 83.7% 52.6%

Transition zones
Between the boreal zone and the adjacent vegetation zones, many authors recognize transition
zones.
Between the boreal zone and the arctic zone, the transition is called hemiarctic, or subarctic.
This ecotone is characterized by a landscape matrix of woodlands and treeless barrens where
rare stands of trees grow in sheltered locations. Accumulated snow usually protects the trees
during the coldest months. These tree stands are often embedded in krummholz vegetation.
Authors agree that the hemiarctic is part of the boreal zone, since its flora retains species that
are at the northern limit of their ranges, such as the tree species.
Between the boreal zone and the temperate zone, the transition is called hemiboreal. In the
hemiboreal, boreal species form mixed forest types with species that are less cold tolerant and
are at the northern limit of their ranges. For example, in eastern North America, balsam fir
(Abies balsamea1) and white spruce (Picea glauca), characteristic of the closed boreal forest, form
mixed stands with yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum). In eastern
Asia, a mix of broadleaved tree species (Acer mono, Betula costata, Fraxinus mandshurica, Quercus
mongolica) and conifers (Pinus koraiensis) marks the ecotone between the boreal and temperate
zones. Some authors classify the hemiboreal as a part of the boreal zone. Considering that
temperate species found in this transition zone are at the northern limit of their ranges and
extend far south into the temperate zone, hemiboreal vegetation fits better into the temperate
zone (Saucier 2008). This treatment is logically consistent with classification of the hemiarctic
vegetation into the boreal zone.

Conifer forests outside the boreal zone

In the temperate zone, certain climatically or edaphically extreme habitats support vegetation
communities that share characteristics similar to those of the boreal zone.
The colder climate at higher elevations, associated with more severe exposure to wind and
weather events, often with shallow or eluviated soils, favours species that show similar
adaptations to those of boreal species. In some areas, high elevation mountains are refugia for
forests that covered lower elevations at these latitudes during the past glaciation. Therefore,
forest types similar to boreal ones are often found at high elevations of mountainous regions in
the temperate zone.

1  For vascular plants, we follow the nomenclature of Flora of North America (1993+) for North America and
Cherepanov (2007) for Europe and Asia.

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 Jean-Pierre Saucier, Ken Baldwin et al.

In eastern North America, some high elevation forests, embedded into the northern
temperate zone, share species such as Abies balsamea, Picea glauca and Betula papyrifera with the
boreal zone further north, but also harbour Picea rubens, a more temperate species. This is
the case over 1000 m elevation in New England. On a few of the highest mountain peaks, over
1300 m elevation, numerous arctic species occur as disjunct populations.
In the Rocky Mountains of western North America, a similar situation can be observed.
Boreal species such as Pinus contorta, Picea glauca and Abies lasiocarpa are replaced at higher
elevations southwards by temperate species of pine (e.g., Pinus edulis), fir (e.g., Abies concolor),
spruce (e.g., Picea engelmannii) and juniper (e.g., Juniperus osteosperma).
In Asia, boreal-like forests occur in the mountains of the Japanese archipelago, where they
are dominated by Abies veitchii, Abies mariesii and Abies homolepis. Likewise, forests of Abies
koreana occupy the highest elevations of the mountains in the southern Korean peninsula
(Nakamura and Krestov 2005). Further south, Abies kawakamii occurs above 3000 m in the
mountains of northern Taiwan. All of these forests include some boreal species in the understory,
but most of their flora is composed of temperate species.
Bogs and poor fens occurring in temperate regions contain boreal species that are
characteristic of cold, acidic, nutrient-poor peatlands. In North America, Picea mariana, Larix
laricina and Sphagnum spp. are typical of these oligotrophic wetlands while in Asia, Picea glehnii
and several Larix species are found in these habitats.

Climate of the boreal zone

The boreal zone is generally characterized by a cold climate with relatively short summers and
long winters. To distinguish boreal from other ecological zones, FAO (2001) retained the
criteria proposed by Köppen and modified by Trewartha based on the number of months with
a mean monthly temperature over 10°C. The boreal zone has up to three months with a mean
monthly temperature over 10°C, while the temperate zone has four to eight, and the arctic
zone (or polar) has none. Winter (mean monthly temperature < 0°C) usually lasts from five to
seven months. The length of the vegetation growing season (mean daily temperature > 5°C)
ranges from 80 to 150 days, but can be as low as 50 to 70 days at the continental treeline and
along oceanic coasts, marking the transition between forests and non-forest vegetation. The
boreal zone cannot be easily defined by mean annual temperature because temperature and
precipitation act as compensating climatic factors. In continental climates, winters are so cold
that low temperatures affect the survival of tree species, while summers are quite hot, sometimes
with a water deficit for plants. Conversely, in oceanic climates, winters are not so cold but
summer temperatures stay quite low, usually with very high humidity; thus, the resulting
growing season is very short. Rivas-Martínez et al. (2011) use three climatic indices to define
six bioclimates in the boreal macrobioclimate (Table 2.2). In this system, depending on
continentality, the mean annual temperature of boreal sub-zones can range from less than 0°C
up to 6°C (Rivas-Martínez et al. 2011). Conifer tree species characterize all boreal bioclimates
except boreal hyperoceanic. In this bioclimate, vegetation is dominated by broadleaved
woodlands, krummholz or ericaceous dwarf shrubs.

10
 Boreal forests

Table 2.2 C
 limatic values for bioclimates within the boreal macrobioclimate (from Rivas-Martínez et al.
2011)

Macrobioclimate Bioclimate Mean annual Continentality Annual ombrothermic

temperature (°C) index1 (°C) index2

Boreal Boreal hyperoceanic < 6.0 < 11 > 3.6

Boreal oceanic ≤ 5.3 11–21 > 3.6
Boreal subcontinental ≤ 4.8 21–28 > 3.6
Boreal continental ≤ 3.8 28–46 > 3.6
Boreal hypercontinental < 0.0 > 46 –
Boreal xeric ≤ 3.8 < 46 > 3.6
1
 The continentality index represents the annual thermic interval (mean monthly temperature of the
hottest month minus the mean monthly temperature of the coldest month).
2
 The annual ombrothermic index provides an indication of the amount of water available for
evapotranspiration (total precipitation of the months with mean monthly temperature > 0°C divided by
the sum of mean monthly temperatures > 0°C times 10).

Vegetation of boreal forests

Main floristic subdivisions of the boreal zone

Boreal forests cover northern latitudes around the globe and overall have very similar floristic
composition in their different regions. Boreal forests are characterized by coniferous tree species
in the genera Picea, Abies, Larix and Pinus, often in association with broadleaved species in the
genera Betula, Populus, Alnus, Sorbus and Salix. Understory floristic composition, dominated by
mosses, lichens and ericaceous shrubs, also shows global similarity due to the shared bio­
geographic history of this biome. Because of these general similarities, Takhtajan (1986)
combined the entire boreal zone into a single Circumboreal Floristic Region subdivided into
15 Floristic Provinces. The differences in floristic composition between these Provinces
represent differences in regional climate and other environmental factors within the boreal
zone, as well as differences in the history of geological and climatic events, and related
evolutionary pathways for boreal species.
For this chapter, we propose ten broad floristic subdivisions of the boreal zone (Figure 2.1):
North America is divided into three floristic subdivisions (Alaska–Yukon, West–Central and
Eastern); there is only one European floristic subdivision (North European); and Asia is divided
into six floristic subdivisions (Western Siberian, Altai–Sayan, Central Siberian, Transbaikalian,
Northeastern Siberian and Okhotsk–Kamchatka). These are based on Takhtajan’s Floristic
Provinces in Eurasia and on floristic subdivisions developed for the Canadian National
Vegetation Classification project (CNVC 2014) in North America. Each of these floristic
subdivisions has its own set of characteristic tree species and forest types, although some species
are present in more than one floristic subdivision. Table 2.3 presents the dominant tree species
by floristic subdivisions of the boreal zone.

11
Table 2.3 Dominant boreal tree species by continent and floristic subdivisions of the boreal zone

North American floristic subdivisions

Alaska–Yukon West–Central North American Eastern North American

Picea glauca (White spruce) Picea glauca (White spruce) Picea glauca (White spruce)
Picea mariana (Black spruce) Picea mariana (Black spruce) Picea mariana (Black spruce)
Larix laricina (Tamarack) Larix laricina (Tamarack) Larix laricina (Tamarack)
Betula neoalaskana (Alaska Pinus contorta (Lodgepole pine) Pinus banksiana (Jack pine)
paper birch) Pinus banksiana (Jack pine) Abies balsamea (Balsam fir)
Populus tremuloides (Quaking Abies lasiocarpa (Subalpine fir) Betula papyrifera (Paper birch)
aspen) Abies balsamea (Balsam fir) Betula pubescens (Downy birch)
Populus balsamifera (Balsam Betula papyrifera (Paper birch) Populus tremuloides (Quaking aspen)
poplar) Betula nana (Dwarf birch) Populus balsamifera (Balsam poplar)
Populus tremuloides (Quaking aspen)
Populus balsamifera (Balsam poplar)

European floristic subdivision

North European

Picea abies (Norway spruce)

Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine)
Betula pendula (Silver birch)
Betula pubescens (Downy
birch)
Betula nana (Dwarf birch)
Populus tremula (Eurasian
aspen)

Asian floristic subdivisions

Western Siberian Altai–Sayan Central Siberian

Picea obovata (Siberian spruce) Picea obovata (Siberian spruce) Larix gmelinii (Dahurian larch)
Abies sibirica (Siberian fir) Abies sibirica (Siberian fir) Picea obovata (Siberian spruce)
Larix sibirica (Siberian larch) Larix sibirica (Siberian larch) Abies sibirica (Siberian fir)
Pinus sibirica (Siberian pine) Pinus sibirica (Siberian pine) Larix sibirica (Siberian larch)
Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) Larix cajanderi (Cajander’s larch)
Betula pendula (Silver birch) Betula pendula (Silver birch) Pinus sibirica (Siberian pine)
Populus tremula (Eurasian Betula platyphylla (Asian white birch) Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine)
aspen) Populus tremula (Eurasian aspen) Betula platyphylla (Asian white birch)
Populus tremula (Eurasian aspen)

Transbaikalian Northeastern Siberian Okhotsk–Kamchatka

Larix gmelinii (Dahurian larch) Larix cajanderi (Cajander’s larch) Picea jezoensis (Jezo spruce)
Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) Pinus pumila (Siberian dwarf pine) Abies nephrolepis (Manchurian fir)
Pinus sibirica (Siberian pine) Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) Abies sachalinensis (Sakhalin fir)
Picea obovata (Siberian spruce) Betula platyphylla (Asian white birch) Larix cajanderi (Cajander’s larch)
Abies sibirica (Siberian fir) Populus tremula (Eurasian aspen) Betula ermanii (Erman’s birch)
Larix sibirica (Siberian larch) Betula platyphylla (Asian white birch)
Betula pendula (Silver birch) Pinus pumila (Siberian dwarf pine)
Populus tremula (Eurasian aspen) Populus tremula (Eurasian aspen)
 Boreal forests

North American floristic subdivisions

Alaska–Yukon boreal
The Alaska–Yukon boreal is dominated by mixed forests that range from early to late
successional stages due to the prevalence of fire disturbance. While open to closed Picea glauca
forests represent the potential natural vegetation on mesic slopes, Betula neoalaskana–Populus
tremuloides forests, and spruce–birch–aspen mixed forests are intermixed in a patchy mosaic of
differing aged stands, with the three dominant tree species often present in all successional
stages (Viereck et al. 1992). The Alaska–Yukon boreal extends from western Alaska, where the
forest grades into arctic tundra and boreal shrublands and heaths, to the western edge of the
North American Cordillera in Yukon Territory. Latitudinally, it extends from the southern
Brooks Range to the northern side of the Alaskan coastal mountains. It is differentiated from
the West–Central North American boreal mainly by the presence of Betula neoalaskana and the
absence of Pinus contorta var. latifolia and Abies lasiocarpa. Generally, the understory contains
species that are characteristic of alpine areas or northern boreal latitudes (e.g., Vaccinium
uliginosum, Empetrum nigrum, Betula nana, Arctous rubra and Nephroma arcticum). Forests are
typically found up to 900 m in elevation.
The Alaska-Yukon boreal comprises a diversity of forest types related to topographic
position, soil moisture, nutrients and permafrost, and disturbance by fire and thermokarst
activity (Van Cleve et al. 1983, Chapin et al. 2006). In upland permafrost-free areas, vegetation
succession after fire has several stages, including herb stage, shrub and sapling stage, deciduous
forest (Betula neoalaskana, Populus tremuloides) after 30 to 130 years, and coniferous forest (Picea
glauca) after 100 to 250 years. On permafrost-affected soils on north-facing slopes and lowlands,
coniferous woodlands (Picea mariana, Larix laricina) predominate and are highly susceptible to
fire. Thermokarst is prevalent in permafrost-rich lowlands and creates a variety of non-forested
ecosystems. In the northern portion of the region, coniferous woodlands (Picea glauca, Betula
nana) predominate, while in the southern portion ferns and herbs (Gymnocarpium dryopteris,
Dryopteris dilatata) are abundant in the understory and other shrub species (Salix barclayii, Alnus
viridis ssp. sinuata) predominate.
The non-forested region of the North Pacific, including southwest Alaska, Aleutian Islands,
southeastern Kamchatka, and northern Kuril Islands have a hyperoceanic to oceanic climate
and a distinctive vegetation resulting from species of both Asian and North American origin.
The region supports shrublands, dwarf shrub heaths, and herbaceous meadows, with a flora
dominated by circumpolar Arctic and Asian and North American boreal species and a strong
component of more restricted amphi-Beringian species. But there are few species that are
endemic to this region or have only a North American distribution. While the bioclimate and
distinctive vegetation form the basis for a separate subdivision for this area, we included this
non-forested region in the Alaska–Yukon subdivision because the focus of this chapter is on
boreal forests.

West–Central North American boreal

The West–Central floristic subdivision of North America includes boreal forests of central
Canada (northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories and eastern
Alberta), of northern British Columbia and of southern Yukon Territory, as well as the
Cordilleran foothill forests of western Alberta. Sub-humid, continental climates prevail
throughout the region, which extends from approximately longitude 87°W in northwestern

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 Jean-Pierre Saucier, Ken Baldwin et al.

Ontario to approximately longitude 136°W in northwestern British Columbia/southwestern

Yukon, where it extends northwards to approximately 62°N of latitude. Characteristic forest
cover comprises closed-crown conifer forests, although more open forest or even woodlands
are common in colder, northern areas or when site-level ecological factors become limiting. In
southern portions of the region, broadleaved and mixedwood forests dominate the landscape.
The eastern portion of this floristic subdivision is underlain by the Canadian Shield, from
which nutrient-poor, acidic sediments were derived by glaciation. The lithology of the rest of
the region, including the boreal plains of the south-central portion, as well as the Rocky
Mountains and northern British Columbia/southern Yukon, is of sedimentary and metamorphic
origins and produces soils with richer nutrient content. North of approximately latitude 60°N
permafrost becomes prevalent and affects soil productivity.
Conifer forests of this subdivision are characterized by spruce/feathermoss types. Picea
mariana dominates on poorer upland soils and on forested wetlands; Picea glauca is the dominant
species on more fertile upland and riparian sites. Both species range northwards to the
continental treeline, with stand physiognomy changing into open spruce–lichen woodlands in
northern areas.
With the short fire return interval in this dry, continental climate, the early seral broadleaved
species Populus tremuloides and Betula papyrifera are common and abundant on the landscape.
They form pure hardwood stands and also mixed stands with the spruces. Populus tremuloides is
very common in southern portions of the region, where it often forms mixed stands with Picea
glauca. At the southern margin of the boreal forest in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,
these species form parkland conditions as the boreal formation transitions to grasslands on the
Great Plains of North America. Betula papyrifera ranges further north than aspen, intergrading
with Betula neoalaskana in the northwestern part of this region. Approaching elevational and
continental treeline, shrub birch species (e.g., Betula nana) become prevalent as the abundance
of trees on the landscape declines.
In the Cordilleran foothills of western Alberta, and in northern British Columbia and
southern Yukon, Pinus contorta var. latifolia is very abundant on the landscape, responding to the
intense forest fire regime. It forms extensive stands following stand-replacing fire, often in
mixture with either spruce species, as well as with aspen or birch. East of the foothills, Pinus
banksiana occupies the same ecological niche as Pinus contorta. Its abundance increases eastwards
on the Shield and is at its maximum in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario.
Abies spp. are rare on the landscape because of the intense fire regime. In the Cordillera and
in British Columbia and southern Yukon, Abies lasiocarpa occurs occasionally on fire-protected
sites. Its abundance increases with elevation, where it is an important subalpine species.
Similarly, east of the Cordillera, Abies balsamea occurs occasionally where fire return intervals
are longer. Populus balsamifera is characteristic of river floodplains and other rich, moist sites in
the West–Central boreal region where it often occurs in mixture with Picea glauca.
The understory floristics of the West–Central boreal region are characterized by two factors:
1) presence and/or dominance of Cordilleran species like Viburnum edule, Rosa acicularis, Lonicera
involucrata, Shepherdia canadensis and Leymus innovatus; and 2) absence and/or poor representation
of eastern species.
Similarly, the eastern boundary of the West–Central boreal region corresponds approximately
with the western range limits of understory species such as Vaccinium angustifolium, Eurybia
macrophylla, Diervilla lonicera and Clintonia borealis. Other eastern species such as Acer spicatum and
Abies balsamea are uncommon and infrequent in the region.
In feathermoss forests, Pleurozium schreberi dominates on poor sites (especially on the
Canadian Shield), while Hylocomium splendens is dominant on the richer soils of the Cordillera

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 Boreal forests

and boreal plains. Associated ericaceous species are dominated by Ledum groenlandicum, Vaccinium
vitis-idaea and V. myrtilloides. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, together with reindeer lichens (esp.
Cladonia2 mitis), is common on dry, poor sites. Alnus incana is largely associated with floodplains
in the West-Central region.
Distinction of the West–Central boreal from the Alaska–Yukon boreal corresponds to the
range limits of Pinus contorta var. latifolia and Abies lasiocarpa, as well as the increased prevalence
of northern species such as Vaccinium uliginosum, Empetrum nigrum, Betula nana, Arctous rubra and
Nephroma arcticum.

Eastern North American boreal

The Eastern boreal floristic region of North America extends from northwestern Ontario
(approximate longitude 87°W), through Québec to the Atlantic Ocean in Newfoundland and
Labrador (longitude 53°W). Characteristic forest cover consists of coniferous closed-crown
forests, but more open forest or even woodlands are frequent when the climate is colder or
when ecological factors become more limiting. In southern portions of this region, broadleaved
and mixedwood forests dominate the landscape.
The most characteristic and widely distributed forest type is the black spruce–feathermoss
forest. In this forest type, Picea mariana dominates the canopy, with Abies balsamea, Pinus
banksiana and sometimes Picea glauca as companion species in variable amounts. Closer to the
northern limit of the boreal, the canopy opens to form a Picea mariana–lichen woodland.
Pinus banksiana is more frequent in the more continental parts of this region where the fire
cycle is relatively short (around 100 years). In fact, both Pinus banksiana and Picea mariana are
well adapted to fire disturbance because they have serotinous or semi-serotinous cones that can
withstand fire and release seeds when mineral soil seedbeds have been exposed following fire.
Abies balsamea is associated with maritime influences and milder climates; it is most common
in the humid areas of eastern Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador. Here, it mixes with
Picea mariana after long periods without fire. In these cases, the shade-tolerant fir can regenerate
under canopy cover and survive with low light availability, waiting for the canopy to open after
a catastrophic event or gap-phase replacement of senescent trees. It is helped periodically by
insect epidemics (e.g., spruce budworm [Choristoneura fumiferana] or hemlock looper [Lambdina
fiscellaria]) that create these gaps and release the understory regeneration. Under these conditions,
black spruce adopts another strategy to maintain itself — vegetative regeneration by layering.
White spruce is much more frequent in hyperoceanic and oceanic bioclimates.
In southern areas of the eastern boreal, Abies balsamea mixes with the shade-intolerant
broadleaved species, Betula papyrifera and Populus tremuloides, mostly as boreal mixedwood
forests. The Abies balsamea–Betula papyrifera forest type is characteristic of the southern latitudes
of the boreal zone in eastern Québec and Newfoundland and Labrador. In the more continental
parts of this subdivision (Ontario and western Québec), mixed forests are dominated by Populus
tremuloides.
The understory of conifer forests is typically dominated by mosses such as Pleurozium schreberi
and Hylocomium splendens and, in oceanic areas, liverworts like Bazzania trilobata. The shrub
layer is represented by heath species, in particular Kalmia angustifolia and Vaccinum angustifolium,
as well as V. myrtilloides and Ledum groenlandicum. On colder or less fertile sites, often associated
with coarse-textured and dry soils, the tree canopy is more open and lichens such as Cladonia

2  A recent decision about this genus put all Cladina species into Cladonia.We decided to use Cladonia even if Flora
of North America (1993+) still uses Cladina.

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 Jean-Pierre Saucier, Ken Baldwin et al.

stellaris and C. mitis cover the ground. On richer sites or warmer parts of the eastern boreal, the
herb layer is well developed to the detriment of the moss layer, while Acer spicatum, Corylus
cornuta and other broadleaved shrubs replace the heaths in the shrub layer. On wetter sites,
Sphagnum species, as well as shrub species such as Alnus incana ssp. rugosa, dominate the
understory.

European floristic subdivision

North European boreal

Takhtajan’s North European floristic subdivision lies within the true boreal vegetation belt
marked by forests of Picea abies and extends from Norway in the west (approximately longitude
5°E) to the Ural Mountains in the east (approximately longitude 60°E) between the treeless
vegetation of the arctic zone to the north and mixed broadleaved–conifer forests to the south.
The Northern European forests have a simple structure and species-poor floristics.
The typical and most widespread forest condition of the North European floristic subdivision
on zonal sites is composed of Picea abies forming a tall overstory with closed-canopy cover.
Betula pendula and Pinus sylvestris may occasionally be present in the tree layer. These species
rapidly increase their presence after disturbance and the formation of gaps in the spruce canopy.
The shrub layer is not abundant in these forests. The herb and dwarf shrub layer is usually well
developed, containing Vaccinium myrtillus, V. vitis-idaea, Deschampsia flexuosa, Luzula pilosa,
Linnaea borealis, Melampyrum pratense and Trientalis europaea. The ground layer is dominated by
Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis and by a number of Dicranum
spp. On nutrient-rich sites, productivity of forests increases and Oxalis acetosella, Anemone
nemorosa, Rubus saxatilis and Maianthemum bifolium dominate in the herb layer.
Pinus sylvestris is more abundant in the canopy on nutrient-poor sites and becomes a fully
dominant species on well-drained sites with sandy nutrient-poor soils with a dense lichen cover
of Cladonia spp. and scattered ericaceous species such as Calluna vulgaris, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
and Vaccinium vitis-idaea. Pine also occupies paludified habitats with thick organic soils and
water table at the ground surface for several months per year, indicated by the presence of
Ledum palustre, Vaccinium uliginosum, Chamaedaphne calyculata and by a well-developed ground
cover of Sphagnum.
Due to the strong climatic gradient between the Atlantic coast and interior regions, forest
vegetation changes with distance from the ocean (Hytteborn et al. 2005). With proximity to
the Atlantic coast, dominance of spruce decreases and the proportion of Betula pubescens
increases. In the northeastern part of Norway, spruce disappears altogether and there is a narrow
belt of pure Betula pubescens forests with crooked trunks and a species-rich herb layer composed
of tall forbs. Where a hyperoceanic boreal climate with a short growing season prevails, in
Iceland, Faroe Islands and southernmost Greenland, boreal vegetation is represented by treeless
communities (Daniëls and de Molenaar 2011). In the eastern part of the province, the climate
becomes more continental and Larix sukaczewii appears in the forest overstory.

Asian floristic subdivisions

The boreal zone of northern Asia extends from the Ural Mountains in the west (approximately
longitude 60°E) to the Bering Strait (approximately longitude 170°W) in the east. It covers an
enormous climatic gradient from the ultracontinental regions in eastern Yakutia, where winter
temperatures fall well below −60°C and summer temperatures reach +35°C, to the Pacific

16
 Boreal forests

coast of Kamchatka, in an oceanic climate of mild winters, cool summers and a very short
growing season. About half of this area is in the zone of continuous permafrost. Compared to
other parts of the boreal zone, the Asian portion is the most diverse.

Western Siberian boreal

The Western Siberian floristic subdivision extends from the Ural Mountains in the west
(approximately longitude 60°E) to the Yenisei River in the east and borders the arctic zone to
the north and steppe zone in the south. Floristically, this subdivision is very similar to the North
European subdivision, except for replacement of the dominant conifer species by Picea obovata,
Abies sibirica, Pinus sibirica and Larix sibirica. Pinus sylvestris occurs with increasing presence
towards the south. Betula pendula, Betula pubescens and Populus tremula are common broadleaved
species (Ermakov and Morozova 2011).
Understory composition in a typical stand of Picea obovata dominated forests is similar to that
of a spruce stand in the North European boreal subdivision. Spruce forests with Vaccinium
myrtillus are characteristic of sites with medium soil nutrient and moisture regimes. Greater
representation of herb species in the understory, (e.g., Oxalis acetosella, Maianthemum bifolium,
Rubus saxatilis and fern species) indicates increasing soil richness. A well-developed moss layer
is characteristic for nearly all forest types, but on nutrient-poor soils the role of bryophytes in
ground vegetation is increased. On sandy, dry and nutrient-poor sites Vaccinium vitis-idaea and
Cladonia spp. become widespread. On moist sites with thick organic soil horizons, Sphagnum
cover develops and species characteristic of bog vegetation may be present.
Western Siberian boreal forests vary at a landscape level. Picea obovata dominated forests
occupy habitats with well-developed soils and with moderate characteristics of soil moisture
and air humidity. Abies sibirica is a humidity sensitive species that occurs in habitats that receive
more precipitation and have long periods of foggy weather. Pinus sibirica occupies large areas
with poor and well-drained soils, where coarse materials from glaciers were deposited or on
ridges with shallow, stony soils around rock outcrops. Larix sibirica, a fire-resistant and gap-
dependent species, increases its presence on sites affected by ground fires.

Altai–Sayan boreal
Southern Siberia is a region where the boreal zone transitions with temperate and steppe
regions. The Altai–Sayan floristic subdivision is influenced by the vegetation of adjacent
mountainous areas, including the major mountain systems from the Altai in the west to the
Hamar-Daban in the east.
Zonal vegetation on the low elevation arid plains is grass steppe vegetation, however in the
mountains, mixedwood (Betula pendula, Populus tremula, Pinus sylvestris) and conifer forests
(Pinus sibirica, Abies sibirica) prevail. These mountain systems are affected by humid Atlantic air
masses and receive over 1500 mm of annual precipitation. The conditions of relatively high
temperatures and high humidity that correspond to the temperate zone in central Eurasia have
led to the formation of unique forests characterized by boreal dominants and well-developed
layers of shrubs and tall herbs. These forests have a complete set of boreal species but differ from
other boreal forests by containing a very high proportion of temperate species in the understory
(Nazimova et al. 2014).

17
 Jean-Pierre Saucier, Ken Baldwin et al.

Central Siberian boreal

The Central Siberian floristic subdivision occupies the area between the Yenisei River in the
west and the Verkhoyansk Range and the eastern border of the Aldan River Basin in the east.
The climate is ultracontinental, with severe winters with no or shallow snow cover and hot
summers; the entire area lies within the zone of permafrost. The combination of cold soils and
harsh climatic conditions does not favour the shade-tolerant conifer species of the Pinus, Picea
and Abies genera. Instead, Larix forests are prevalent.
Most of the area is occupied by Larix gmelinii, a tree species adapted to the most extreme
growing conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. It can tolerate winter temperatures lower
than −70°C, strong paludification, very low air humidity and summer precipitation, and very
cold soils with shallow active layers above the permafrost. In conditions of low precipitation
and summer-long droughts, permafrost is the only source of moisture for trees. Larix gmelinii is
a long-lived species that can live for 500 years in northern regions. Because of strict intolerance
to shade, larch has very low competitive ability, which limits its distribution.
Larix normally forms pure even-aged stands with a single-stratum canopy, varying in cover,
without an admixture of any other tree species. Across the whole province, Larix stands
alternate with Pinus sylvestris stands on sandy soils. Both species are shade intolerant and adapted
to a wide range of ecological conditions. Pinus sylvestris saplings appear to be more fire tolerant
than Larix saplings, and pine replaces larch when ground fires are frequent.
The shrub layer in Larix stands is normally well developed because canopy closure is usually
low. It is composed of both circumboreal shrubs and species restricted to the eastern part of
boreal Asia. On moist flats, the shrub layer may contain Alnus fruticosa, Vaccinium uliginosum,
Betula middendorffii and Ledum palustre. In wet lowlands, Carex schmidtii, C. appendiculata,
C. globularis, Eriophorum vaginatum, E. gracile and Calamagrostis langsdorffii can be main components
of the herb layer. Some shrubs and dwarf shrubs, such as Ledum spp., Myrica tomentosa,
Chamaedaphne calyculata, may also be present in the herb layer. On uplands, the most abundant
species are Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Solidago spiraeifolia, Carex vanheurckii, and
Pteridium aquilinum. Sphagnum spp. occur on wet and very wet sites while Pleurozium schreberi
and Hylocomium splendens form moss layers on mountain slopes. Cladonia spp. and Stereocaulon
spp. are common on slopes in earlier stages of post-fire succession.
In the eastern part of the Central Siberian floristic subdivision, sites that are protected from
the prevailing harsh environment are suitable for conifer forests composed of shade-tolerant
Picea obovata, but their area is minor and they are considered to be modern refugia.

Transbaikalian boreal
This floristic subdivision lies south of Lake Baikal and spreads from the Northern Baikal Plateau
in the west to the upper part of the Amur River in the east. The southern boundary of the
Transbaikalian boreal is in northeastern Mongolia. The climate is ultracontinental and, although
continuous permafrost is absent, soils are characterized by severe freezing. The landscape is
semi-forested, moisture being the major limiting factor for forest distribution. Forests mainly
occupy the northern aspects of mountain slopes, while southern aspects and valleys are covered
by steppe vegetation. Most Transbaikalian boreal forests are composed of Larix gmelinii, except
on sandy sites, which are occupied by Pinus sylvestris. At higher elevations, Pinus sibirica can
form sparse stands.
Typical Larix gmelinii forests occur within the forest–steppe ecotone of the Transbaikalian
boreal. Their open canopy is dominated by Larix gmelinii and Betula platyphylla in different

18
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Title: Talks with Tolstoi

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Virginia Woolf

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TALKS WITH TOLSTOI
 TALKS
WITH TOLSTOI

BY

A. B. GOLDENVEIZER

TRANSLATED BY
S. S. KOTELIANSKY AND VIRGINIA WOOLF

PUBLISHED BY LEONARD & VIRGINIA WOOLF AT

THE HOGARTH PRESS, PARADISE ROAD, RICHMOND
1923
 TRANSLATORS’ NOTE
In the following pages we have made a selection from vol. i. of the
diary of the well-known Russian musician, A. B. Goldenveizer, which
was published at the end of 1922 in Moscow under the title Vblizi
Tolstovo (literally Near Tolstoi).
 INTRODUCTORY NOTE
In publishing the diary devoted to my friendship of nearly fifteen
years with Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoi, I think it best to state first what
my aim was in making notes, and the method I pursued in doing so.
I put down chiefly Tolstoi’s words, and to some extent the events of
his private life, making no attempt to select what would be
interesting from some special point of view, but adopting no method
and attempting to supply no connection between one entry and
another.
My diary, therefore, is in no sense “literature.” Its aim is to be a
document.
Unfortunately, I did not always make notes and was far from writing
down everything. After 1908 my records were fuller; in 1909-1910,
the last year of Tolstoi’s life, my reports were voluminous; but it was
only in 1910 that my records were as complete as they could
possibly be. This is the cause of a great disproportion between the
parts. The first volume of my diary contains the long period from
January 1896 to January 1st, 1910, the second volume records and
materials for the year 1910 only, yet vol. ii. is considerably larger
than vol. i.
My notes from 1896 to 1904 are now published for the first time.
The notes from 1904 to 1908 were published in Russ. Prop. vol. ii.,
and the notes from the end of 1908 to January 1st, 1910, appeared
in Tolstoi: Pamyatniki Zhizni i Tvorchestva. The parts of the diary
which have been previously published are here published in a
considerably enlarged form.
A. GOLDENVEIZER.
 1896
My first visit to the house of Leo Nikolaevich was on January 20th,
1896. I was not then twenty-one years old. I was almost a boy. I
was taken to the Tolstois’ by a well-known Moscow lady singer who
used to visit the Tolstois. She took me there in my capacity as
pianist, of course. If one is so unlucky as to play some instrument,
or to sing or recite, one has a constant impediment in one’s relations
with people. People do not take to one, are not interested in one as
in a person: one is asked to play something, to sing, to recite....
Hence one feels so embarrassed, so awkward, in other people’s
society.
I felt awkward then, and painfully shy. I was introduced. I went into
the drawing-room, where, fortunately, two or three people I knew
were sitting. I did not yet see Tolstoi. Shortly afterwards he came in,
dressed in a blouse, with his hands in his belt. He greeted us all. I
do not remember whether he spoke to me then. Then I played, and
played badly. Of course, out of politeness I was thanked and
complimented, which made me inexpressibly ashamed. And then,
when I stood in the middle of the large room, at a loss, not knowing
what to do with myself, not daring to raise my eyes, Leo Nikolaevich
came up to me, and, speaking with a simplicity which was his alone,
began to talk to me.
Among other things, talking of the piece I had played, he asked me:
“Which composer do you like best?”
“Beethoven,” I replied.
Tolstoi looked straight into my eyes and said quietly as if doubting
me:
“Is that so?”
It seemed as if I were repeating what every one says; but I spoke
the truth.
Leo Nikolaevich observed that he loved Chopin beyond almost all
other composers.
He said to me:
“In every art—this I know from my own experience too—there are
two extremes which it is difficult to avoid: emptiness and virtuosity.
For instance, Mozart, whom I love so much, is at times empty, but
after that he soars to an extraordinary height. Schumann’s defect is
virtuosity. Of these two faults virtuosity is the worse, if only for this
reason, that it is harder to get rid of it. Chopin’s greatness consists in
the fact that, however simple he may be, he is never empty, and in
his most complicated works he is never a mere virtuoso.”
I left the Tolstois’ house with a vague feeling of happiness that I had
seen Tolstoi and spoken to him, and also with a bitter sense of my
own unworthiness.
One evening as I approached the Tolstois’ house in Khamovniki I
met Leo Nikolaevich, who was going for a walk. He asked me to
come with him. We walked in the Prechistenka. The street was
deserted and quiet. The few passers-by whom we met at intervals
nearly all bowed to Leo Nikolaevich. By degrees Leo Nikolaevich
brought me to talk about myself. At that time I was carried away by
the philosophy of pessimism; I raved about Schopenhauer. Probably
everything I said to Leo Nikolaevich was naïve and silly, but Leo
Nikolaevich listened to me attentively and spoke to me seriously
without making me feel my naïveté.
In passing, Leo Nikolaevich said to me:
“The most complete and profound philosophy is to be found in the
Gospels.”
I remember that at that time it seemed to me strange. I was used to
thinking the Gospels a book of moral teaching; and I did not
understand that all the wisdom of the most profound philosophy was
contained in its simplicity and lucidity.
Once I met Leo Nikolaevich in the street. He again asked me to walk
with him. We were somewhere near the Novinsky Boulevard, and
Leo Nikolaevich suggested we should take the tram. We sat down
and took our tickets.
Leo Nikolaevich asked me:
“Can you make a Japanese cockerel?”
“No.”
“Look.”
Tolstoi took his ticket and very skilfully made it into a rather
elaborate cockerel, which, when you pulled its tail, fluttered its
wings.
An inspector entered the car and began checking the tickets. L. N.,
with a smile, held out the cockerel to him and pulled its tail. The
cockerel fluttered its wings. But the inspector, with the stern
expression of a business man who has no time for trifling, took the
cockerel, unfolded it, looked at the number, and tore it up.
L. N. looked at me and said:
“Now our little cockerel is gone.” ...
I arrived at Yasnaya on July 6th after eleven o’clock at night.
I got up early in the morning and went to the river with L. N. to
bathe. L. N. works every day from breakfast till lunch. He seemed to
me to be in good spirits. In the morning at coffee he said:
“I feel as though I were nineteen or twenty.”
Yasnaya then used to be crowded and gay. Nearly all the children
were at home. All the young people played tennis and enjoyed
themselves. Occasionally L. N. would also play tennis. In the evening
all used to go out for long walks in the woods. L. N. always loved to
find short cuts, and would take us all into wonderful places in the
forests. It must be admitted that the ‘short-cuts’ nearly always made
the walks longer.
Once L. N. and myself were left far behind the others. L. N. said:
“Let us catch them up!” And for half a mile or three-quarters I,
twenty-one years old, and he, sixty-eight, ran neck and neck. On
another occasion his physical vigour struck me even more. Mikhail
Lvovich was doing a very difficult gymnastic exercise which he could
not bring off. L. N. looked and looked, could not stand it any longer,
and said: “Let me try,” and to the surprise of all present he at once
did the exercise better than his son.
When I was leaving Yasnaya and my carriage was waiting for me, L.
N. took my arm, led me aside, and said:
“I have been meaning all this time to tell you, and now as you are
going I shall tell you: however great a gift for music you may have,
and however much time and power you may spend on it, do
remember that, above all, the most important of all is to be a man.
It is always necessary to remember that art is not everything.... In
your relations with people it is necessary to try to give them as much
as possible and to take from them as little as possible. Forgive me
for saying this, but I did not want to say good-bye to you without
having told you what I think.”
Another of L. N.’s sayings at this time was: “The ego is the
temporary thing that limits our immortal essence. Belief in personal
immortality always seems to me a misunderstanding.”
“Materialism is the most mystical of all doctrines: it makes a belief in
some mythical matter, which creates everything out of itself, the
foundation of everything. It is sillier than a belief in the Trinity!”
 1897
Moscow, January 6th. To-day I spent the evening at the Tolstois’. L.
N. was talkative. The conversation was on various topics, beginning
with the peasants and ending with the latest “decadent” movement
in art.
L. N. read aloud certain passages of Maeterlinck’s new play
Aglavaine et Sélysette. His attitude to it is one of complete
indifference.
L. N. reads aloud most wonderfully; very simply and at the same
time with remarkable expression. Wonderful also is his capacity of
telling in a few words the contents of a story. There is nothing
superfluous, and a clear, definite picture is given.

April 22nd. At the Tolstois’.

Speaking of modern art, L. N. said:
“If an impressionist was asked to draw a hoop, he would draw a
straight line ——; a child would draw a circle like this O” (L. N. made
the circle with his finger on the table). “And the child is more in the
right, because he naïvely represents what he sees, and the
impressionist represents what may be a hoop or a stick or anything
you like; in a word, he does not represent the characteristic
properties of the thing, but only a symbol of it, a part, and that not
always the most characteristic one.
“A really remarkable and powerful mind can look for a method of
expressing his idea, and if the idea is strong he will find new
methods of expressing it. But modern artists invent a technical
method and then are on the look-out for an idea, which they
arbitrarily squeeze into their method.
“The great mistake is that people have introduced into art the vague
conception of ‘beauty,’ which obscures and confuses everything....
Art consists in this—when some one sees or feels something, and
expresses it in such a form that he who listens, reads, or sees his
work feels, sees, and hears the same thing in the same way as the
artist. Therefore art can be of the highest quality, or indifferent, or,
finally, simply hateful, but still it is art. The most immoral picture if it
achieves its end is art, although it serves low ends.
“If I yawn, cry, or laugh, and infect another person by the same
thing, that is not art, for I produce the impression by the fact itself;
but, if a beggar, for instance, seeing that his tears affected you and
you gave him money, should on the following day pretend to cry and
should arouse pity in you, then that is art.”

August 2nd, 4 P.M. I have just had a long talk with L. N. on art. He
was repeating the contents of his article on art which he is writing,
and which he goes on working over and rewriting. In the course of it
L. N. said:
“When art became the inheritance of a small circle of rich people,
and left its main course, it entered the cul-de-sac in which we see it
now.
“Art is the expression of feeling, and the higher it is the greater the
public which it can draw to itself. Therefore the highest art must
reflect those states of mind which are religious in the best sense of
the word, as they are the most universal and typical of all human
beings.
“The majority of so-called works of art consist in a more or less
skilful combination of four elements: (1) borrowing—for instance,
the working out of some legend in a poem, of a song in music, etc.
Or unconscious borrowing—that is, an imitation now of one thing,
now of another, not intended by the author. (2) Embellishments:
pretty metaphors which cover up insignificant ideas, flourishes in
music, ornament in architecture, etc. (3) Effects: violent colours in
painting, accumulated dissonances, sharp crescendos in music, and
so on. Finally, (4) the interest—that is, the desire to surprise by the
novelty of the method, by the new combination of colours, etc.
Modern works of art are usually distinguished by these four qualities.
“The following are the chief obstacles which hinder even very
remarkable men from creating true works of art: first,
professionalism—that is, a man ceases to be a man, but becomes a
poet, a painter, and does nothing but write books, compose music,
or paint pictures; wastes his gift on trifles and loses the power of
judging his work critically. The second, also a very serious obstacle,
is the school. You can’t teach art, as you cannot teach a man to be a
saint. True art is always original and new, and has no need of
preconceived models. The third obstacle, finally, is criticism, which,
as some one has justly said, is made up of fools’ ideas about wise
men.
“I know that my article will be received by most people as a series of
paradoxes, but I am convinced that I am right.”
L. N. is evidently much carried away by his work.

August 9th. This evening I am going to leave Yasnaya Polyana,

where I have spent nearly a fortnight. The whole time passed
wonderfully well. The days were spent more or less in this way:
After breakfast every one goes to his work. L. N. takes his barley-
coffee in a little kettle, and with the kettle in one hand and a few
little pieces of bread in the other he goes to his room to work there,
and does not come out till lunch.
A Note without a Date. In the summer of 1897 the famous Lombroso
came to Yasnaya. I was not at Yasnaya at the time, but from what L.
N. and others told me I can say that Lombroso, whose writings L. N.
regarded without enthusiasm, had made no particular impression
personally. I will give one example to show how superficially and
inaccurately Lombroso related what he saw in Yasnaya. There was a
round patch on one of L. N.’s boots, which came off, and L. N., while
waiting to send the boot to be repaired, wore it with the hole in it. At
that time Sophie Andreevna, I believe, took a snapshot of L. N., and
the little hole on the boot was clearly seen in the photograph. I have
that snapshot. Lombroso, in describing his visit to Yasnaya in the
Press and in numerous interviews, said that L. N. pretended the
‘simple life,’ and, wanting to show that he wore torn boots, had
made a round hole in one of them, evidently cut on purpose.
 1899
May 11th. The conversation turned upon Katkov. L. N. expressed the
opinion that Katkov was not clever. Sophie Andreevna became
annoyed and said:
“Any one who disagrees with us must be a fool.”
To which L. N. said:
“The mark of foolish people is: when you say anything to them they
never answer your words, but keep on repeating their own. That
was always Katkov’s way. That is why I say that Katkov was a stupid
man. Now, there is something of the same sort in Chicherin, yet can
they be put even approximately on the same level?
“Though,” L. N. added, “one has to respect every one. Among the
virtues the Chinese place respect first. Simply, without any relation
to anything definite. Respect for the individual and for the opinion of
every man.”
The conversation turned upon ancient languages and classical
education. L. N. said:
“When I studied and read a great deal of Greek, I could easily
understand almost any Greek book. I used to be at the examinations
in the Lyceum, and saw that nearly always the pupil only understood
what he had learnt beforehand. He did not understand new
passages. And, indeed, at school for every fifty words that were
learnt at least sixty-five rules were taught. In such a way one can’t
learn anything.
“I am always surprised how firmly all sorts of superstitions possess
people. Superstitions, such as the Church, the Tsar, the army, etc.,
live for centuries, and people have got so accustomed to them that
they are not now thought to be strange. But the superstition of
classical education arose with us in Russia before my very eyes.
Above all, not one of the most zealous partisans of classical
education can give a single sensible argument in favour of the
system.” Then L. N. added:
“There is also the superstition of the possibility of a ‘school’ in art.
Hence all institutes and academies. The abnormal form which art
takes now, however, is not the root of the evil, but one of its
symptoms. When the religious conception of life changes, then art,
too, will find its true methods.”
L. N. returned to the Chinese virtue of ‘respect,’ and said:
“Often remarkable men suffer from the lack of that Chinese ‘respect.’
For instance, in Henry George’s Progress and Poverty Marx’s name is
not mentioned at all; and in his recently published posthumous work
hardly eight lines refer to Marx, and those speak of the obscurity,
complexity, and emptiness of Marx’s works.
“Apropos of obscurity and complexity, they are nearly always a proof
of the absence of true meaning. But there is one great exception—
Kant, who wrote horribly, and yet he makes an epoch in the
development of mankind. In many respects he discovered perfectly
new horizons.”
To-day after lunch L. N. went on horseback to Sokolniki and came
back late in the evening. Nevertheless, when Mme. M. A. Maklakov
and myself began to say good-bye, he said he would come with us.
On the way Mme. Maklakov kept saying all the time how much she
would like to live in the country. L. N. interrupted her:
“How it annoys me when people abuse the town with such
exaggeration and say: To the country, to the country! All depends on
the person,—in town, too, one can be with Nature. Don’t you
remember,” L. N. asked her, “we had an old gatekeeper, Vasili? He
lived all his life in town; in the summer he used to get up at 3
o’clock in the morning, and enjoyed his intercourse with Nature in
our garden much more than country gentlemen do, who spend their
evenings in the country playing cards. Besides, compared with the
enormously important question of how to live one’s life in the best
and most moral way, the question of town or country has no value at
all.”
Before this L. N. said with a smile:
“I once said, but you must not talk about it, and I tell it you in
secret: woman is generally so bad that the difference between a
good and a bad woman scarcely exists.”

Yasnaya Polyana, July 31st. I am working with N. N. Ge on the

proofs of Resurrection. The corrections are to be inserted in the
proof-sheets from L. N.’s draft copy, and two copies of the same are
made. The draft copy remains here, and the fair copies are sent, one
to Marx for the weekly Niva, and the other to Chertkov in England
for the English edition.
It is an interesting, but worrying and difficult work. Throughout,
instead of the one printed proof-sheet, one has to copy out afresh
three or four long pages. Often L. N.’s corrections are written so
closely that a magnifying glass has to be used to read them. Unless
one has seen L. N.’s incredible work, the numerous passages that
are rewritten, the additions and alterations, the same incident being
sometimes written dozens of times over, one can have not the
remotest idea of this labour.

August 2nd. I have been here from July 27th (in Yasnaya Polyana).
A queer young man, K., came to L. N., and, on my asking him what
he was doing, he said that “he was the free son of air.” K. told L. N.
that he wanted to settle down in the country among the people.
L. N. in recounting it said:
“Of course, I did not advise him to do it. Usually nothing comes from
such attempts. For instance, some very nice people, the N. N.’s,
bought a small plot of land and settled like that in the country. A
peasant cut down one of their trees; they did not want to take
action in the court against him, and soon, when the peasants learnt
about it, they cut down the whole woods. The peasant boys stole
their peas; they were not beaten nor driven away, and then nearly
the whole village came and stole all the peas, etc., etc.
“One should not, above all, look for new ways of life, for usually, in
doing so, one’s whole energy is spent on the external arrangement
of life. And when all the external arrangement is over, one begins to
feel bored and does nothing. Let every one first do his own work, if
only it does not clash sharply with his convictions, and let him try to
become better and better in his own situation, and then he will find
new ways of life into the bargain. For the most part, all the external
side of life must be neglected; one should not bother about it. Do
your own work.”
To-day L. N. said of some one:
“He is a Tolstoian—that is, a man with convictions utterly opposed to
mine.”
Yesterday L. N. spoke of the process of creative work:
“I can’t understand how any one can write without rewriting
everything over and over again. I scarcely ever re-read my published
writings, but if by chance I come across a page, it always strikes me:
All this must be rewritten; this is how I should have written it....
“I am always interested to trace the moment, which comes quite
early, when the public is satisfied; and the artist thinks: They say it
is good; but it is just at this point that the real work begins!”
To-day L. N. was not well. I went to him; he was lying on the little
sofa in the drawing-room. He told me of S. G. Verus’s book on the
Gospels.
“His final conclusion is the denial of Christ as a historical person. In
the earliest written parts of the New Testament—in Paul’s messages
—there is not a single biographical fact about Christ. All the Gospels
that have come down to us were composed between the second and
fourth century A.D. Of the writers who were Christ’s contemporaries
(Tacitus, Suetonius, Philo, J. Flavius) not a single one of them
mentions Christ; so that his personality is not historical, but
legendary.
“All this is very interesting and even valuable, for it makes it
unnecessary to quarrel any more over refuting the authenticity of
the Gospel stories about the miracles; and it proves the teaching of
the Gospels to be not the words of one superman, but the sum of
the wisdom of all the best moral teaching expressed by many people
and at different times.”
L. N. also said this to me:
“Perhaps it is because I am unwell, but at moments to-day I am
simply driven to despair by everything that is going on in the world:
the new form of oath, the revolting proclamation about enlisting
university students in the army, the Dreyfus affair, the situation in
Serbia, the horrors of the diseases and deaths in the Auerbach
quicksilver works.... I can’t make out how mankind can go on living
like this, with the sight of all this horror round them!
“It always strikes me how little man is valued, even in the simplest
way as a valuable and useful animal. We value a horse which can
carry, but man can also make boots, work in a factory, play the
piano! And 50 per cent are dying! When I used to breed merino
sheep and their death-rate reached 5 per cent, I was indignant and
thought the shepherd very bad. And 50 per cent of the people are
dying!”
I read L. N.’s most wonderful Father Sergius.
Moscow, August 9th. I returned from Yasnaya in the evening of the
6th. This is what I find I have written down.
The talk turned upon the woman question. The conversation was
carried on in a half-jocular tone.
L. N. said:
“Woman, as a Christian, has a right to equality. Woman, as member
of the modern and perfectly pagan family, must not struggle for an
impossible equality. The modern family is like a tiny little boat sailing
in a storm on the vast ocean. It can keep afloat if it is ruled by one
will. But when those in the boat begin struggling, the boat is upset,
and the result is what we see now in most families. The man,
however bad, is in the majority of cases the more sensible of the
two. Woman is nearly always in opposition to any progress. When
man wants to break with the old life and to go ahead, he nearly
always meets with energetic resistance from the woman. The wife
catches hold of his coat-tails and will not allow him. In woman a
great evil is terribly highly developed—family egotism. It is a
dreadful egotism, for it commits the greatest cruelties in the name of
love; as if to say, let the whole world perish so that my Serge may
be happy!...”
Then L. N. recalled scenes which he had observed in Moscow:
“There issues from Minangua’s a gentleman in a beaver coat, with a
sad face, and after him his lady, and the porter carries boxes and
helps the lady into the sledge.
“I love at times to stand near the colonnade by the great theatre
and watch the ladies driving up to stop at Meriliz’s. I only know of
two similar sights: (1) when peasant women go to Zaseka to pick up
nuts the watchmen catch them, so that sometimes they give birth
out of fright, and yet they go on doing it; and (2) so it is with ladies
shopping at sales.
“And their coachmen wait in the bitter cold and talk among
themselves: ‘My lady must have spent five thousand to-day!’
“I shall one day write about women. When I am quite old, and my
digestion is completely out of order, and I am still looking out into
the world through one eye, then I shall pop my head out and tell
them: That’s what you are! and disappear completely, or they would
peck me to death.” ...
Doctor E. N. Maliutin was in Yasnaya. L. N. said to him:
“I can’t understand the usual attitude that a doctor always serves a
good cause. There is no profession that is good in itself. One may be
a cobbler and be better and nicer than a doctor. Why is restoring
some one to health good? At times it is quite the opposite. Man’s
deeds are good, not in themselves, but because of the feelings
which inspire him. That’s why I do not understand the desire of
women to be doctors, trained nurses, midwives, as though by
becoming a midwife everything is settled for the best.”
On some occasion L. N. said:
“When you are told about a complicated and difficult affair, for the
most part about some one’s disgusting behaviour, reply to it: Did you
make the jam? or: Won’t you like to have tea?—and that’s all. Much
harm comes from the so-called attempt to understand circumstances
and relations.”

October 1st. I came to Yasnaya Polyana yesterday. It is very nice

here now the weather is mild, almost bright, but rather cold. There
are no strangers. I am copying Resurrection again, on which L. N. is
hard at work. Now I am doing the first chapters of Part III.
There is little joy in the Tolstois’ family life, and to an intimate friend
this is extremely marked.
Moscow, November 26th. I am much distressed by L. N.’s serious
illness, which at the bottom of my mind I consider hopeless. I called
on Wednesday to inquire after his health, and the news was very
unfavourable.

December 7th. When Tolstoi was ill (he is much better now) and I
was for the first time in his room, he seemed glad to see me, which
was a great delight to me. On his table was the volume of Tyutchev’s
poems. In his hand he had an English book, Empire and Freedom (I
don’t remember by whom). As is always his way, Tolstoi at once
spoke of what he was reading.
“Here is a remarkable book!” said Tolstoi. “He (the author) is
American, therefore an Anglo-Saxon; nevertheless, he denies the so-
called civilizing influence of the Anglo-Saxon race. I can’t understand
how people can stick to such superstitions! I understand a
Muhammad preaching his doctrine,—mediæval Christianity, the
Crusades. Whatever the convictions of those people may have been,
they did it in the belief that they knew the truth and were giving that
knowledge to others. But now there is nothing! Everything is done
for the sake of profit!”
Then Tolstoi began to talk about a French pamphlet on the workers’
co-operative societies which he had read.
“Why not introduce in the villages here such co-operative societies?
That is a vital thing! You, instead of doing nothing,” he turned to Ilya
Lvovich, who sat there, “ought to do it here in the village.
“Socialist ideas have become a truism. Who can now seriously
dispute the idea that every one should have the right to enjoy the
result of his labour?”
Then the conversation turned upon the obschina.
Tolstoi said:
“Everything is taken away from the peasants; they are overtaxed,
oppressed in all ways. The only good thing left is the obschina. And
then every one criticizes it and makes it responsible for all the
miseries of the peasants, in their wish to take away from the
peasants their last good thing. They make out that the mutual
responsibility of the members is one of the evils of the obschina. But
mutual responsibility is only one of the principles of the obschina
with regard to fiscal purposes. If I use a good thing for an evil end,
that does not prove that the thing is in itself bad.”
Then the conversation turned upon Tyutchev. The other day Tolstoi
saw in the Novoe Vremya his poem “Twilight.” He therefore took
down all Tyutchev’s poems and read them during his illness.
Tolstoi said to me:
“I am always saying that a work of art is either so good that there is
no standard by which to define its qualities—that is real art,—or it is
quite bad. Now, I am happy to have found a real work of art. I
cannot read it without tears. I know it by heart. Listen, I’ll read it to
you.”
Tolstoi began in a voice broken with tears:
“The dove-coloured shadows melted together....”
When I am on my death-bed I shall not forget the impression then
produced on me by Tolstoi. He lay on his back, convulsively twisting
the edge of his blanket with his fingers and trying in vain to restrain
the tears that choked him. He broke down several times and began
again. But at last, when he read the end of the stanza, “Everything
is in me, and I in everything,” his voice gave way. The entrance of A.
N. Dunaev stopped him. He grew calmer.
“What a pity that I spoilt the poem for you!” he said to me later.
Then I played the piano.
Tolstoi asked me not to play Chopin, saying: “I am afraid I might
burst into tears.”
Tolstoi asked for something by Mozart or Haydn.
He asked: “Why do pianists never play Haydn? You ought to. How
good it is—beside a modern complicated, artificial work—to play
something of Mozart or Haydn!”