About the Author

Dr Hazel R Delcourt, Quaternary palaeoecologist and professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at The University of Tennessee, is one of America's leading authorities on the eastern deciduous forest. Dr. Delcourt grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, and holds degrees from Albion College (Biology), LSU (Botany), and The University of Minnesota (Quaternary Palaeoecology). She worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from 1978 to 1981, and has been at The University of Tennessee since 1982.