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What would Thanksgiving be without pecan pie? New Orleans without pecan pralines? Southern cooks would have to hang up their aprons without America’s native nut, whose popularity has spread far beyond the tree’s natural home. But as familiar as the pecan is, most people don’t know the fascinating story of how native pecan trees fed Americans for thousands of years until the nut was “improved” a little more than a century ago—and why that rapid domestication actually threatens the pecan’s long-term future. In The Pecan, acclaimed writer and historian James McWilliams explores the history of America’s most important commercial nut. He describes how essential the pecan was for Native Americans—by some calculations, an average pecan harvest had the food value of nearly 150,000 bison. McWilliams explains that, because of its natural edibility, abundance, and ease of harvesting, the pecan was left in its natural state longer than any other commercial fruit or nut crop in America. Yet once the process of “improvement” began, it took less than a century for the pecan to be almost totally domesticated. Today, more than 300 million pounds of pecans are produced every year in the United States—and as much as half of that total might be exported to China, which has fallen in love with America’s native nut. McWilliams also warns that, as ubiquitous as the pecan has become, it is vulnerable to a “perfect storm” of economic threats and ecological disasters that could wipe it out within a generation. This lively history suggests why the pecan deserves to be recognized as a true American heirloom.
Pecan. --- Pecan industry. --- Carya illinoensis --- Carya illinoinensis --- Carya oliviformis --- Carya pecan --- Hicoria pecan --- Pecan tree --- Hickories --- Hicans --- Nut industry
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Hardwood-dominated temperate forests (mostly in Eastern North America, Europe, North East Asia) provide valuable renewable timber and numerous ecosystem services. Many of these forests have been subjected to harvesting or conversion to agriculture, sometimes over centuries, that have greatly reduced their former extent and diversity. Natural regeneration following harvesting or during post-agricultural succession has often failed to restore these forests adequately. Past harvesting practices and the valuable timber of some species have led to a reduction in their abundance. The loss of apex predators has caused herbivore populations to increase and exert intense browsing pressure on hardwood regeneration, often preventing it. Particularly important are fruit, nut and acorn bearing species, because of their vital role in forest food webs and biodiversity. Restoring hardwood species to natural forests in which they were formerly more abundant will require a number of forest management actions (e.g., resistant hybrids, deer exclosures/protectors, enrichment planting, underplanting, etc.). Similarly, reforesting areas that were once natural forests will also require new silvicultural knowledge. Global warming trends will intensify the need for interventions to maintain the diversity and function of temperate hardwood forests, as well as for increase hardwood reforestation.
Fagaceae species --- soil disturbance --- non-timber forest products --- precision restoration --- protected landscape area --- tree selection --- cultural diversity --- Quercus rubra --- hardwood restoration --- enrichment planting --- sub-tropical hardwoods --- agroforestry --- herbicide effects --- biological diversity --- competition --- Juglans nigra L. --- understorey --- invasive plants --- wildfire --- forest restoration --- Quercus macrocarpa --- riparian forest restoration --- vegetation management --- assisted migration --- sugar maple --- deer browsing --- species composition --- tolerance --- phosphorus --- growth efficiency index --- floristic quality index --- shelterwood --- Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch --- monitoring --- indicators --- seed predation --- Bioclimatic niche --- non-parametric correlation --- unmanaged forest --- Native Americans --- abandoned agricultural field --- native mixed forests --- tree vigor --- forest diversity --- predation --- weed control --- nitrate --- facilitation --- inventory --- hardwoods --- Mexican tree species --- yellow birch --- tree plantation --- seedling establishment --- deer abundance --- avian guilds --- Pinus strobus L. --- Central Hardwood Forest region --- Pinus strobus --- Durango --- MaxEnt --- Juglans nigra --- oak regeneration --- forest regeneration --- Quercus rubra L. --- deer herbivory --- ecosystem services --- tree shelter
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