Neotropical lowland rain forests have received much attention in
the last decade, particularly in the debate concerning biological
diversity. The lowland forests have been mentioned over and over
again as examples of the genetic richness of the tropical forests,
and it is true that in small sample plots of, for instance, one
hectare of lowland rain forest, the number of species is enormous.
Lately, however, it has become increasingly clear, that the high
alpha-diversity of lowland tropical rain forests is not accompanied
by an equally high beta- and gamma-diversity.;Montane forests, on
the other hand, have been known for their richness, but when
estimating their alpha-diversity by traditional methods using
quantitative inventories of trees, their species richness does not
equal that of lowland forests. Recent work that includes other life
forms than trees, ie. epiphytes, climbers, shrubs and non-vascular
plants, however, indicate that the alpha-diversity in many montane
forests equals that of lowland forests. When studying the diversity
patterns on slightly larger geographic scales, it has become
evident that differences in species composition between localities
in montane forests is tremendous - their beta- and
gamma-diversities are high.;It appears that, although they cover
much smaller extensions than lowland rain forests, Montane forests
are the homes of the better part of the biological diversity of the
neotropical countries.;Discussions and attention relating to
conservation has been equally skewed towards the lowland forests.
Still, the montane forests are just as threatened by road
construction, agriculture and cattle farming as the lowland forests
are. Considering this lack of attention to montane forests, despite
their importance for the biological diversity of the neotropics, it
was appropriate to call for a symposium addressing these issues.
Much knowledge obviously exists, but often in a scattered form, and
it was the intention that a symposium could bring together
researchers and others with interest in neotropical montane
forests, biodiversity and conservation, to exchange ideas and
knowledge, and to call attention to the importance of these
ecosystems for the future of genetic resources of our planet.;This
volume contains a selection of abstracts from the "Neotropical
Montane Forests Symposium" held at the New York Botanical Garden
from June 21-26, 1993. The purpose of the symposium is to document
biological and ecological diversity in neotropical wet and moist
Montane forests, and place it in the context with other neotropical
areas. Emphasis is given to plants, with regards to taxonomic and
ecological richness, threatened and conservation areas of high
biodiversity and endemism, the evolution, diversity, speciation,
distribution and biogeography of Andean-centred genera and
families.
General
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