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Although biologists have directed much attention to estimating the
extent and causes of species losses, the consequences for ecosystem
functioning have been little studied.
This book examines the impact of biodiversity on ecosystem
processes in tropical forests - one of the most species-rich and at
the same time most endangered ecosystems on earth. It covers the
relationships between biodiversity and primary production,
secondary production, biogeochemical cycles, soil processes, plant
life forms, responses to disturbance, and resistance to invasion.
The analyses focus on the key ecological interfaces where the loss
of keystone species is most likely to influence the rate and
stability of ecosystem processes.
Though seasonally dry tropical forests are equally as important to
global biodiversity as tropical rainforests, and are one of the
most representative and highly endangered ecosystems in Latin
America, knowledge about them remains limited because of the
relative paucity of attention paid to them by scientists and
researchers and a lack of published information on the subject.
"Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests" seeks to address this shortcoming
by bringing together a range of experts in diverse fields including
biology, ecology, biogeography, and biogeochemistry, to review,
synthesize, and explain the current state of our collective
knowledge on the ecology and conservation of seasonally dry
tropical forests. The book offers a synthetic and
cross-disciplinary review of recent work with an expansive scope,
including sections on distribution, diversity, ecosystem function,
and human impacts. Throughout, contributors emphasize conservation
issues, particularly emerging threats and promising solutions, with
key chapters on climate change, fragmentation, restoration,
ecosystem services, and sustainable use. Seasonally dry tropical
forests are extremely rich in biodiversity, and are seriously
threatened. They represent scientific terrain that is poorly
explored, and there is an urgent need for increased understanding
of the system's basic ecology. "Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests"
represents an important step in bringing together the most current
scientific information about this vital ecosystem and disseminating
it to the scientific and conservation communities.
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