Marsh Book of the Year Award

Books can have a major impact in ecology, but academic book publishing brings relatively little financial reward to authors.

The Marsh Book of the Year Award acknowledges the important role that books have on ecology and its development. This prize is funded by the Marsh Charitable Trust and is awarded to the book published in the last two years that has had the greatest influence on ecology or its application.

The prize is an honorarium of £1,000 and is open to books published anywhere in the world. We usually consider the Marsh Book of the Year Award on an annual basis.
The book is selected from those reviewed in The Niche over the previous two years.

Marsh Book of the Year 2022

Trees
Peter Thomas
The New Naturalist Library
Collins (2022)

Trees are fascinating – they are the biggest and oldest living organisms on the planet. They have been vital in determining the vegetation of our planet as well as the development of human cultures and communities, yet how much do we really understand about them? Trees by Dr Peter Thomas provides a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of tree biology and ecology to reveal the wonders of trees.

“Peter Thomas has the ability to communicate complex biological processes in an accessible way while offering the understanding of a real expert. It is an encyclopedia of neat ideas on the features of trees. The concluding chapter resonates with current societal issues of environmentalism, nature attention deficit, and back-to-nature movements and the whole volume speaks to a wide readership of gardeners, students, and naturalists.” – Marsh Book Award judges

“Anyone with the slightest interest in trees should read this book. But be warned; you will find it impossible to put down.” – Ken Thompson, The Niche

Winners to date are:

Peter Thomas: Trees (2022)
Ian Newton: Uplands and Birds (2021)
Kimberly A. With: Essentials of Landscape Ecology (2020)
Trevor J.C. Beebee: Climate Change and British Wildlife (2019)
Andrew Clarke: Principles of Thermal Ecology: Temperature, Energy and Life (2018)
Tim Clutton-Brock: Mammal Societies (2017)
Jordi Bascompti & Pedro Jordano: Mutualistic Networks (2016)
Nigel Holmes and Paul Raven: Rivers (2015)
Ian Newton: Bird Populations (2014)
Brian Moss: Liberation ecology: the reconciliation of natural and human cultures (2013)
Roger L. H. Dennis: A Resource-Based Habitat View for Conservation: Butterflies in the British Landscape (2012)
David Briggs: Plant Microevolution and Conservation in Human-Influenced Ecosystems (2011)
Michael Angilleta: Thermal Adaptation: A Theoretical and Empirical Synthesis (2010)
Beverley Glover: Understanding Flowers and Flowering (2009)
David Wilkinson: Fundamental Processes in Ecology: An Earth System Approach (2007)
Richard Bardgett: The Biology of Soils – A Community and Ecosystem Approach (2006)
Peter M. Vitousek: Nutrient Cycling and Limitation: Hawai’i as a Model System (2005)