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Savannas are the most widespread ecosystem in the tropics and as
such are subjected to great human pressure that may result in
massive soil degradation.
The book addresses the role of species in the function of savanna
ecosystems. It is shown that savannas are enormously diverse and
that four factors determine the function of savanna ecosystems:
Plant Available Moisture; Plant Available Nutrients; Fire;
Herbivores.
This book contains the results of a Symposium on the physiological
ecology of plants of the lowland wet tropics held in Mexico in June
1983 organized by the Instituto de Biologla of the National
University of M"exico (U. N . A. M. ), and sponsored by UNAM,
CONACYT, NSF and UNESCO (CIET). A workshop portion of the Symposium
was held at the tropical research station at Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz.
This Symposium originated in response to the increasing interest in
the physiological ecology of tropical plants, because of the
potential. of this field to provide a basic understanding of
functioning of tropical plant communities. The study of
physiological ecology of tropical plants has been delayed in some
cases by the lack of conceptual framework, but also by the absence
of appropriate instrumentation and techniques with which to conduct
precise measurements under high temperature, high humidity field
conditions. Hypotheses and concepts of the physiological ecology of
tropical plants have been based mainly on observational data and
the analysis of growth forms and leaf anatomf. The early work of A.
F. W. Schimper and o. Stocker in Asia, and the extensive surveys
made by H. Walter on the osmotic potentials of plants in the
tropics and subtropics, constituted, until relatively recently, the
only available information on the water and carbon relations of
tropical plants.
The book represents a multidisciplinary approach to understanding
soil–landscape–vegetation relationships and, specifically, the
ecophysiology of plant communities developing on sandy soils of
very low fertility that are subject to seasonal flooding. It
provides an overview of the white sand ecosystems within the Amazon
basin, and focuses on the forest and herbaceous (meadows)
vegetation growing on the dystrophic sandy soils of the upper Negro
and Orinoco river basins. Several chapters describe
physiographic aspects of the study area using integrated remote
sensing and in situ sampling. By doing so they attain a
comprehensive description of the origin and evolution of soils and
landscapes, an advanced classification of soils, and a mapping of
the geographic distribution of psammophilous vegetation. This
volume also provides a phytosociological classification of
extensive forested areas, and a detailed description of the
structure and diversity of little-known herbaceous formations.It
targets professionals in the fields of ecology, ecophysiology,
geomorphology, soils, vegetation, and the environmental sciences.
The information it offers may be of significant use to researchers,
protected area planners, and environmental policy makers.
Prolonged seasonal drought affects most of the tropics, including
vast areas presently or recently dominated by 'dry forests'. These
forests have received scant attention, despite the fact that humans
have used and changed them more than rain forests. This volume
reviews the available information, often making contrasts with
wetter forests. The world's dry forest heterogeneity of structure
and function is shown regionally. In the neotropics, biogeographic
patterns differ from those of wet forests, as does the spectrum of
plant life-forms in terms of structure, physiology, phenology and
reproduction. Biomass distribution, nutrient cycling, below-ground
dynamics and nitrogen gas emission are also reviewed. Exploitation
schemes are surveyed, and examples are given of non-timber product
economies. It is hoped that this review will stimulate research
leading to more conservative and productive management of dry
forests.
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