Here are ten excellent tree and forest reference books that can make the job of managing trees easier and enhance the pleasure of using a forest. One book will even give you an edge in preparing for and landing a good forestry job. These books were selected because they have proven to be of great help to the forest and tree user. I also selected them for their simplicity and easy reading. They are often referred to and quoted from by tree lovers, foresters and forest owners.
1. The Woodland Steward: A Practical Guide to the Management of Small Forests
This James Fazio reference is the best "beginning" book on forestry and woodland management I have found to date. It provides practical information on everything from controlling woods road erosion to identifying tree insects to inventorying your trees. Some recommended forest practices have improved since the 1985 book was published but most information is sound and has stood the test of time. Buy the book used if you can't find it new!2. National Audubon Society FieldGuide to North American Trees - Eastern
This book is easy to use by anyone who is generally familiar with tree identification. It is a product of the United States Forest Service's Chief Dendrologist and tree identification expert. You can identify a tree by using four keys including leaf shape, flowers, fruit and autumn color including a "thumb tab" of botanical shapes.3. Dirr's Trees and Shrubs - an Illustrated Encyclopedia
Dr. Michael A. Dirr, Professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia, has compiled arguably two of the most useful (and beautiful) books on landscape trees available. Widely used by arborists and urban foresters, Trees and Shrubs and Trees and Shrubs (plus one for warm climates) describe the most appropriate woody plants to plant under conditions defined by site location and desired characteristics demanded by the planter.4. Working With Your Woodland: A Landowner's Guide
New England foresters have indicated this to be the book for forest landowners with little experience in the northeastern United States. It addresses marketing, harvesting, management, and assistance. The book is published by University Press of New England and the authors are Mollie Beattie, Charles Thompson, and Lynn Levine.
5. Christmas Trees: Growing and Selling Trees, Wreaths, and Greens
Lewis Hill has written the most popular how-to Christmas tree book in print. Hill covers it all: selecting and preparing a site; cultivating and maintaining production and harvest; finding wholesale and retail markets; plus he includes a grower's calendar and list of associations. This is a great first book on growing Christmas trees.6. Opportunities in Forestry Careers
This book by Christopher M. White is in many forestry agency and forest industry libraries. It should be every forestry student's first book to purchase. It is the best book I have found describing what a forestry career is like and can help you find a job in the woods. A must buy when looking for a job in forestry.7. The Urban Tree Book
Arthur Plotnik, in consultation with The Morton Arboretum, brings the tree lover a different kind of tree identification book - a book that brilliantly transcends traditional and oftentimes dry tree texts. I often check to see what Mr. Plotnik has to say about a tree beyond the technical prose of more prescriptive texts. This book explores interesting and much more readable tree facts.8. Native Trees for North American Landscapes
Guy Sternberg and Jim Wilson's book "Native Trees for North American Landscapes: From the Altantic to the Rockies" highlights 96 common native American trees for inclusion in your landscape. The trees are individually reviewed with a wealth of information including range, seasonal and physiological descriptions. Each tree's habitat and associated assets and problems are discussed. I love the final comments which share some of the most interesting "facts" on each tree.9. Forestry Handbook
Most graduate foresters in the United States have a copy of this Karl F. Wenger manual. It is a practical reference for the working field forester, incorporating the latest information and new, improved methods in such critical areas as U.S. forest law and policy, forest taxation, cost accounting, pesticides, forest management. It is not an easy read. Published by the Society of American Foresters this 1300 page book could put you out $200 so shop carefully...