Book Review: The Nature of Oaks

Doug Tallamy is an entomologist, conservationist, and author who is a champion of the natural world. His books provide evidence-based information and practical application suggestions to encourage the general public to become active in the conservation movement by considering the ecological choices we make for our own backyards and other private lands. In his latest work, The Nature of Oaks (Timber Press, Inc., 2021) Tallamy continues this crusade by sounding a call to action to understand, protect and increase the population of one of the most significant of woody plants: the oak tree.

The oak (Quercus sp.) is currently an unappreciated tree that is disappearing from the American landscape. Years ago, most of the large oaks were logged for wood products. More recently, many remaining oak forests have been cleared for development. In these areas, other tree specimens have replaced the oak due to thoughts that it is just too big, too disruptive, and far too messy or that it is more of a problem than a benefit. Tallamy vehemently objects. "Oaks support more forms of life and more fascinating interactions than any other tree genus in North America." Tallamy wrote this book to change perceptions and to establish that oaks should be acknowledged and revered for their major impact on the ecosystem.

To "fully appreciate what an oak tree can bring to your yard, and into your life if you are willing, we need to follow what is happening on your oak trees month by month and through all four seasons," Tallamy exclaims. Beginning with October and ending with September, he takes the reader on a written journey through an action-packed year in the life of an oak. The book reads much like a journal, commemorating an oak tree's monthly visitors, interactions, and community involvements. We read about the visit of the blue jay in October and the long standing, mutually dependent relationship through which the jay "plants" the acorns by accident as it buries the seeds to store away for winter. We learn of an oak acting as a protective big brother in March as its substantial mounds of slowly decaying leaf litter "protects the ground and its diverse inhabitants." The July section is laid out like a "who's who" page in the lifestyle section of a major insect magazine, complete with action shots and close ups of the month's oak tree stars including the yellow-vested moth, katydid, spun glass slug, puss caterpillar and saddleback caterpillar, to mention just a few. Tallamy highlights the oak's role as a major player in the ecosystem game in August, citing it as an MVP in watershed management, carbon sequestration and micro-climate moderation.

The Nature of Oaks is a science-based book that is well written and accessible to the mainstream reader. The multitude of research references (42 works cited spanning the years of 1897 to 2019) eloquently combine with author experience and insight to become an easy-to-handle month by month guide that makes a good one-time read or long-term reference manual. Despite all the material presented in this 197-page book, Tallamy is careful to point out that this is not an exhaustive discussion, but a shortened version meant to bring about oak awareness. In the concluding chapter, he explains that the oak is a cornerstone tree in our ecosystem and urges that we "cannot casually accept the loss of oaks without accepting the loss of other plants and animals that depend upon them." He wonderfully ends the book with an earnest request for the reader to get involved. "If you are at all interested in contributing to the conservation of local animals, or in enjoying the wonders of nature right at home, planting one or more oaks is an awfully good way to do those things."

So, to those who put down this book to pick up an oak sapling, join me in returning to the book to read Tallamy's parting gift following the References: supplemental sections: "How to Plant an Oak and Best Oak Options for Your Area." As I raise my own shovel in support of the mighty oak, I say a sincere thank you to Doug Tallamy for making me become an oak enthusiast!