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Rain forest ecology. Asia, Southeastern. Forests and forestry.
Temperate rainforests are biogeographically unique. Compared to their tropical counterparts, temperate rainforests are rarer and are found disproportionately along coastlines. Because most temperate rainforests are marked by the intersection of marine, terrestrial, and freshwater systems, these rich ecotones are among the most productive regions on Earth. Globally, temperate rainforests store vast amounts of carbon, provide habitat for scores of rare and endemic species with ancient affinities, and sustain complex food-web dynamics. In spite of their global significance, however, protection levels for these ecosystems are far too low to sustain temperate rainforests under a rapidly changing global climate and ever expanding human footprint. Therefore, a global synthesis is needed to provide the latest ecological science and call attention to the conservation needs of temperate and boreal rainforests. A concerted effort to internationalize the plight of the world’s temperate and boreal rainforests is underway around the globe; this book offers an essential (and heretofore missing) tool for that effort. DellaSala and his contributors tell a compelling story of the importance of temperate and boreal rainforests that includes some surprises (e.g., South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Japan, Russia). This volume provides a comprehensive reference from which to build a collective vision of their future.
After publication of the first volume of the Tropical Rain Forest, the International Journal of Mycology and Lichenology commented ``This is a welcome addition to the literature on the ecology of tropical rain forests. The book provides a wealth of data and stimulating discussions and is of great interest to ecologists interested in tropical areas.'' Whereas the first volume dealt with system-ecological aspects such as community organization and processes, the present volume concentrates on biogeographical aspects such as species composition, diversity, and geographical variation.Recent ecological research in the tropical rain forest has greatly extended our understanding of biogeographical patterns of variation in the various groups of organisms, and has revealed many of the ecological and evolutionary forces that led to the present patterns of variation. Many important systems of co-evolution between the tropical rain forest ecosystems have also come to light, and the loss of species and related damage is better understood in quantitative terms.This volume presents a comprehensive review of these and other features of the rain forest ecosystem structure, and the ecological processes operating that system. General chapters on abiotic and biotic factors are followed by specific chapters on all major groups of organisms. Prospects for the future are discussed and research needs clearly stated. Also the human exploitation of the system, its effects and its limits are discussed. The book is extensively illustrated by photographs, graphs, and tables, and comprehensive bibliographies follow each chapter. Author, systematic and subject indices complete the book.It is a must for all ecologists, agriculturists, foresters, agronomists, hydrologists, soil scientists, entomologists, human ecologists, nature conservationists, and planners dealing with tropical areas. Biologists and environmentalists will also find the volume of great interest.
Since the first edition ofthis book was written, public awareness oftropical rain forests has become so great that issues involving their exploitation are the stuffofdaily newspapers, radio and television. The plight offorest-living peoples has become an international issue; concerns over the greenhouse effect and other climatic changes are often linked to rain forest destruction. At the same time, there has been an unparalleled scientific interest in the workings ofthe rain forest and an increasingconcern by economists as to its potential in balancing the books of many developing countries. The need for an advanced yet concise and up-to-date synthesis ofrecent studies and a key to the increasingly voluminous literature on rain forests is even greater than it was in 1983. There are now many highly illustrated popular books on rain forests, as well as new editions of K.A. Longman and 1. Jenik Tropical rain forest and its environment (2nd edition, 1987) and T.e. Whitmore Tropical rainforests of the Far East (2nd edition, 1984, many of the splendid illustrations from which are to be found in his rather less ambitious Introduction to tropical rain forests, 1990). Other very welcome regional accounts of rain forest biology in various parts of the tropics have appeared, notable being D.H. Janzen (ed.), Costa Rican natural history (1983); Earl of Cranbrook (ed.), Malaysia (1988); G.T. Prance and T.E. Lovejoy (eds), Amazonia (1984); A.
In recent years, tropical forests have received more attention and have been the subject of greater environmental concern than any other kind of vegetation. There is an increasing public awareness of the importance of these forests, not only as a diminishing source of countless products used by mankind, nor for their effects on soil stabilization and climate, but as unrivalled sources of what today we call biodiversity. Threats to the continued existence of the forests represent threats to tens of thousands of species of organisms, both plants and animals. It is all the more surprising, therefore, that there have been no major scientific accounts published in recent years since the classic handbook by Paul W. Richards, The Tropical Rain Forest in 1952. Some excellent popular accounts of tropical rain forests have been published including Paul Richard's The Life of the Jungle, and Catherine Caulfield's In the Rainforest and Jungles, edited by Edward Ayensu. There have been numerous, often conflicting, assessments of the rate of conversion of tropical forests to other uses and explanations of the underlying causes, and in 1978 UNESCO/UNEPI FAO published a massive report, The Tropical Rain Forest, which, although full of useful information, is highly selective and does not fully survey the enormous diversity of the forests.
Although global environmental problems created by the disappearance of tropical rain forests are all too well known, the forests themselves--vast in size and rich in diversity--are the least understood of the world's ecosystems. This book presents one researcher's view of Southeast Asia's tropical rainforests, based on a quarter century of fieldwork in a wide range of forest types. Moving from the mangrove of the coastal belt, inland through freshwater and peat swamp forests, to the lowly dipterocarp forests of the heartlands, and up to the montane forests, the author's lively account contains a wealth of detailed observations that effectively communicate the complex natural structure of tropical rain forests while providing the reader with candid first impressions--mud, mosquitoes, and all.
Since the first edition of this book was written, public awareness of tropical rain forests has become so great that issues involving their exploitation are the stuff of daily newspapers, radio and television. The plight offorest-living peoples has become an international issue; concerns over the greenhouse effect and other climatic changes are often linked to rain forest destruction. At the same time, there has been an unparalleled scientific interest in the workings ofthe rain forest and an increasing concern by economists as to its potential in balancing the books of many developing countries. The need for an advanced yet concise and up-to-date synthesis of recent studies and a key to the increasingly voluminous literature on rain forests is even greater than it was in 1983. There are now many highly illustrated popular books on rain forests, as well as new editions of K.A. Longman and J. Jenik Tropical rain forest and its environment (2nd edition, 1987) and T.e. Whitmore Tropical rainforests of the Far East (2nd edition, 1984, many of the splendid illustrations from Introduction to tropical which are to be found in his rather less ambitious rain forests, 1990). Other very welcome regional accounts of rain forest biology in various parts of the tropics have appeared, notable being D.H. Janzen (ed.), Costa Rican natural history (1983); Earl of Cranbrook (ed.), Malaysia (1988); G.T. Prance and T.E. Lovejoy (eds), Amazonia (1984); A.
An updated edition of the only book dedicated to the terrestrial ecology of the East Asian tropics, authored by a world-renowned tropical ecologist