The Ecology Of Tropical Forest Tree Seedlings

The volume brings together findings of key research scientists into seedling establishment and environmental requirements in many different forest situations. Commercial and native forest species are examined from different forest types and from different countries. Addressed are such issues as the demography, morphology and physiology of seedlings and their responses to the availability of resources, notably light, nutrient and water. The audience for this book will include foresters, ecologists and resource managers who are interested in the structure, functioning and regeneration of tropical forests.

Our knowledge of the ecology of tropical rain-forest trees is limited, yet a good understanding of the trees is essential to unravelling the workings of the forest itself. This book aims to summarise contemporary understanding of the ecology of tropical rain-forest trees, with particular emphasis on comparative ecology.

Reproductive Ecology of Tropical Forest Plants reviews recent developments in the reproductive ecology of tropical forest plants and explores the implications of current findings on forest structure, function, management, and conservation. It examines how insights gained from reproductive ecology can be helpful in the management of tropical forest resources and discusses directions of future research.

Historically, tropical ecology has been a science often content with descriptive and demographic approaches, which is understandable given the difficulty of studying these ecosystems and the need for basic demographic information. Nonetheless, over the last several years, tropical ecologists have begun to test more sophisticated ecological theory and are now beginning to address a broad array of questions that are of particular importance to tropical systems, and ecology in general. Why are there are so many species in tropical forests and what mechanisms are responsible for the maintenance of that vast species diversity? What factors control species coexistence? Are there common patterns of species abundance and distribution across broad geographic scales? What is the role of trophic interactions in these complex ecosystems? How can these fragile ecosystems be conserved? Containing contributions from some of the world’s leading tropical ecologists, Tropical Forest Community Ecology provides a summary of the key issues in the discipline of tropical ecology: Includes contributions from some of the world’s leading tropical ecologists Covers patterns of species distribution, the maintenance of species diversity, the community ecology of tropical animals, forest regeneration and conservation of tropical ecosystems

In Tropical Forest Ecology, Egbert G. Leigh, Jr., one of the world's foremost tropical ecologists, introduces readers to the tropical forest and describes the intricate web of interdependence among the great diversity of tropical plants and animals. Focusing on the tropical forest of Barro Colorado Island, Panama, Leigh shows what Barro Colorado can tell us about other tropical forests--and what tropical forests can tell us about Barro Colorado. This book considers three essential questions for understanding the ecological organization of tropical forests. How do they stay green with their abundance of herbivores? Why do they have such a diversity of plants and animals? And what role does mutualism play in the ecology of tropical forests? Beautifully written and abundantly illustrated, Tropical Forest Ecology will certainly appeal to a wide variety of scientists in the fields of evolution, tropical biology, botany, zoology, and natural history.

Importance pf tropical forests; characteristics of tropical forests; classification of tropical forests; deforestation in the tropics; management of tropical forests; plantatios and agroforestry systems; approaches for implementing sustainable management techniques.

This book assesses the scientific knowledge of tropical tree biology set against a background of community ecology and forest structure.

Taking readers out of the laboratory and into the humid tropical forests, this comprehensive volume explores the most recent advances occurring in tropical plant ecophysiology. Drawing on the knowledge of leading practitioners in the field, this book synthesizes a broad range of information on the ways in which tropical plants adapt to their environment and demonstrate unique physiological processes. This book is arranged into four sections which cover resource acquisition, species interactions, ecophysiological patterns within and among tropical forest communities, and the ecophysiology of forest regeneration. These sections describe plant function in relation to ecology across a wide spectrum of tropical forest species and growth forms. How do different species harvest and utilize resources from heterogeneous tropical environments? How do patterns of functional diversity reflect the overwhelming taxonomic and morphological diversity of tropical forest plants? Such fundamental questions are examined in rich detail. To illuminate the discussions further, every chapter in this book features an agenda for future research, extensive cross referencing, timely references, and the integration of ecophysiology and the demography of tropical species where the data exist. Tropical Forest Plant Ecophysiology provides plant scientists, botanists, researchers, and graduate students with important insights into the behavior of tropical plants. Biologists and foresters interested in tropical ecology and plant physiological ecologists will also benefit from this authoritative and timely resource.