After reading The Hidden Life of Trees (see blog post), I was keen to read more of Wohlleben’s work – enter The Weather Detective, a perfect gift for nature enthusiasts and gardeners.
Broken up into short, easily digestible chapters, Wohlleben shares how weather and climate related phenomena influence nature’s behaviour on our doorsteps. Whilst providing practical tips on how to monitor such conditions to ensure optimal plant growth giving wildlife the opportunity to flourish, thus promoting biodiversity.
The first three chapters focus on changes in short-term weather conditions and contain some brilliant extracts on the creation of precipitation (pg 4-5) as well as how plants protect their pollen and nectar from it (pg 32) or use it to their advantage – rinsing dust off their leaves to allow them to function more efficiently (pg 31).
The chapters which follow contain an overwhelming amount of geographical content too (see below).
• Types of weathering, pg 87-88
• Water management, pg 79-80
• Nutrient cycling & carbon sequestration, pg 92 – 93
• Soil type & quality, pg 87-89
• Long-term impacts of soil compaction as a result of past and present farming practices, pg 98-100
• Interception and infiltration rates, pg 24-25
• Sunspot activity, pg 46
• Seasonal changes in both hemispheres pg 55-56
• Effects of climate change on the migration of birds, pg 70
• Ground water management, pg 75-76 & 79-80
• Plant and animal adaptations, from grasshoppers and bees (pg 22) to daisies (pg 8) and deciduous trees (pg 67)
• Pros & cons of bird feeders and nest boxes, Chapter 10
• The reliability of weather forecasting (pg 1)
as well as
• How wind direction (pg 2), air masses (also pg 2) and cloud cover (pg 3) influence weather conditions
It is evident that Wohlleben is passionate about nature, animals and plants – all of which filters through in his writing which is why I’m really looking forward to reading more from him in the future.
Recommended age range: GCSE+
Mrs Geography 