The Central Amazon Floodplain

Floodplains are ecosystems which are driven by periodic inundation and oscillation between terrestrial and aquatic phases. An understanding of such pulsing systems is only possible by studying both phases and linking the results into an integrated overview. This book presents the results of a 15-year study of the structure and function of one of the largest tropical floodplains, the Amazon River floodplain. It covers qualitative aspects, e.g., adaptations of aquatic and terrestrial organisms to the flood pulse as well as quantitative aspects, e.g., studies of biomass, primary production, decomposition, and nutrient cycles. The authors interpret their findings and the most important data from other studies under an integrating scientific concept, the Flood Pulse Concept.

Floodplains are ecosystems which are driven by periodic inundation and oscillation between terrestrial and aquatic phases. An understanding of such pulsing systems is only possible by studying both phases and linking the results into an integrated overview. This book presents the results of a 15-year study of the structure and function of one of the largest tropical floodplains, the Amazon River floodplain. It covers qualitative aspects, e.g., adaptations of aquatic and terrestrial organisms to the flood pulse as well as quantitative aspects, e.g., studies of biomass, primary production, decomposition, and nutrient cycles. The authors interpret their findings and the most important data from other studies under an integrating scientific concept, the Flood Pulse Concept.

The book presents a coherent analysis of the ecological situation, the history of land occupation, the different forms of resource utilization, the socio-economic situation of the population, & the ecological threats of human activities on the Amazon floodplain. Cost-benefit analyses of different forms of land use are compared with market demands & environmental impacts. Conflicts of interest between different stake holders (e.g., smallholders & ranchers, professional & subsistence fishermen) are described. A chapter about environmental legislation & its deficiencies points to the need for additional regulations to avoid further conflicts of interest & negative impact of human activities on the ecosystem. This is the first book that deals with sustainable management of a tropical wetland with coherent & new data sets in an interdisciplinary approach, along with a strong conceptional background.

Enriched with nearly 100 beautiful color photographs, Floods of Fortune offers the first holistic view of the conservation drama unfolding in the Amazonian floodplain.

Central Amazonian floodplain forests are an unique and endangered ecosystem. The forests grow in areas that are annually flooded by large rivers during mean periods of up to 8 months and at depths of up to 10 m. Despite this severe stress, these forests consist of over 1,000 species and are by far the most species-rich floodplain forests worldwide. The trees show a broad range of morphological, anatomical, physiological, and phenological adaptations that enable them not only to survive the adverse environmental conditions, but also to produce large amounts of biomass when the nutrient levels in water and soils are sufficiently high. This is the case in the floodplains of white-water rivers, which are used for fisheries, agriculture, and cattle-ranching but which also have a high potential for the production of timber and non-timber products, when adequately managed. Latest research on ecophysiology gives insight how tree species adapt to the oscillating flood-pulse focusing on their photosynthesis, respiration, sap flow, biochemistry, phenology, wood and leave anatomy, root morphology and functioning, fruit chemistry, seed germination, seedling establishment, nitrogen fixation and genetic variability. Based on tree ages, lifetime growth rates and net primary production, new concepts are developed to improve the sustainability of traditional forest managements in the background of an integrated natural resource management. This is the first integrative book on the functioning and ecologically oriented use of floodplain forests in the tropics and sub-tropics.It provides fundamental knowledge for scientist, students, foresters and other professionals on their distribution, evolution and phytogeography. “This book is an excellent testimony to the interdisciplinary collaboration of a group of very dedicated scientists to unravel the functioning of the Amazonian Floodplain forests. They have brought together a highly valuable contribution on the distribution, ecology, primary production, ecophysiology, typology, biodiversity, and human use of these forests offering recommendations for sustainable management and future projects in science and development of these unique wetland ecosystems. It lays a solid scientific foundation for wetland ecologists, foresters, environmentalists, wetland managers, and all those interested in sustainable management in the tropics and subtropics.” Brij Gopal, Executive Vice President International Society for Limnology (SIL).

The book presents a coherent analysis of the ecological situation, the history of land occupation, the different forms of resource utilization, the socio-economic situation of the population, & the ecological threats of human activities on the Amazon floodplain. Cost-benefit analyses of different forms of land use are compared with market demands & environmental impacts. Conflicts of interest between different stake holders (e.g., smallholders & ranchers, professional & subsistence fishermen) are described. A chapter about environmental legislation & its deficiencies points to the need for additional regulations to avoid further conflicts of interest & negative impact of human activities on the ecosystem. This is the first book that deals with sustainable management of a tropical wetland with coherent & new data sets in an interdisciplinary approach, along with a strong conceptional background.

With a complex assemblage of largely intact ecosystems that support the earth's greatest diversity of life, the Amazon basin is a focal point of international scientific interest. And, as development and colonization schemes transform the landscape in increasing measure, scientists from around the world are directing attention to questions of regional and global significance. Some of these qustions are: What are the fluxes of greenhouse gases across the atmospheric interface of ecosystems? How mush carbon is stored in the biomass and soils of the basin? How are elements from the land transferred to the basin's surface waters? What is the sum of elements transferred from land to ocean, and what is its marine "fate"? This book of original chapters by experts in chemical and biological oceanography, tropical agronomy and biology, and the atmospheric sciences will address these and other important questions, with the aim of synthesizing the current knowledge of biochemical processes operating within and between the various ecosystems in the Amazon basin.