Once regarded solely as the cultivation of forest trees, silviculture is today shifting to a broader focus, one that reflec ts societiesa changing forest values. In addition to timber management, the prac tice and science of silviculture are now concerned with tending forestsato reduce fire potential, benefit wildlife, and maintain aestheticsaand with ensuring options for future uses of the forest. In Silviculture and Ecology of Western U.S. Forests, John Tappeiner, Douglas Maguire, and Timothy Harrington follow the progression of silviculture as a science and look closely at the value of forests. The only silviculture text to focus on the forests of the western U.S., primarily those in Oregon, Washington, and California, it is based on over 900 references as well as the authorsa extensive research and management experience. This timely work includes detailed chapters on fire, shrub ecology, density measurements, thinning, reforestation, and ecosystem variables such as insec ts, fungi, soils, and water stress. It explores topics such as natural vegetation dynamics that help predic t and explain silviculture treatments, and how slight modifications in thinning prac tices can benefit wildlife and reduce the potential for insec t damage. Readers will come to understand the significance of carefully managing forests by conscious design, providing for a range of forest ecosystems and resources. An essential reference for forest managers, policy makers, forest scientists, and students (the book includes a set of study questions), this authoritative volume provides a basis for silviculture prac tices and contemporary management of western forests.