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CONTENTS Preface xiii Acknowledgments xvi Introduction xvii What Are Tropical Forests? Why Are Tropical Forests Important? Chapter 1 Climate and Tropical Forests 1 Patterns of Tropical Forest Distribution 1 Latitude 3 Global Climate Patterns 4 Albedo 7 The Atmosphere and Climate 10 The Intertropical Convergence Zone 14 The Oceans and Climate 15 The Oceanic Conveyor Belt 16 Tropical Climates 17 Humidity 18 Lapse rate 20 Climate Diagrams 23 Tropical Storms 26 Monsoon 29 Tropical floods 30 Trees, Water, and Climate 33 Drought and Fire 35 Tropical Mountains 39 Microclimate 41 Light, Vision, and Photosynthesis 44 Aspect 48 Conclusions 50 Chapter 2 Geology of the Tropical Forests 53 The Rock Cycle 54 Plate Tectonics 56 Tectonic History of the Tropics 61 Tropical Volcanoes and Islands 64 Krakatoa 66 Tropical Rock Weathering 69 Particle Size 71 Acidity and pH 75 Soil Formation and Maturation 77 The Soil Profile of a Podzol 81 Soil Catenas 88 Conclusions 90 Chapter 3 Types of Tropical Forest 93 Characteristics of Tropical Forest 93 Forest Structure 95 Tropical Evergreen Rain Forest 98 Why be an Evergreen? 103 Leaf Area Index 107 Tropical Seasonal Forests 109 Why be Deciduous? 111 Secondary Forests 114 Succession 117 Montane Forests 121 Zonation 122 Timberlines 126 Lowland Swamp and Bog Forests 127 Waterlogging 128 Peat 130 Mangrove Forests 133 Salinity 134 Biogeography of the Tropical Forests 138 Conclusions 141 Chapter 4 The Tropical Forest Ecosystem 145 The Concept of the Ecosystem 146 Energy 148 Primary Productivity in the Tropical Forests 152 Resource Partitioning 154 Food Webs in the Tropical Forests 164 Element Cycling in the Tropical Forests 167 Canopy Leaching 171 Nitrogen Fixation 178 Decomposition in the Tropical Forests 181 Nitrification 184 Mycorrhizae 188 Ecosystem Development and Stability 190 The Concept of Stability 193 Cycles in the Forest 197 r- and K-selection 200 Conclusions 203 Chapter 5 Biodiversity of the Tropical Forest 207 The Meaning of Biodiversity 207 How Many Species Are There on Earth? 209 Patterns of Biodiversity 214 Biodiversity and Competition 220 The Ecological Niche 222 Species/Area Relationships 225 Biodiversity Hotspots 229 Endemism 232 Conclusions 233 Chapter 6 Biology of the Tropical Forests: Plants 237 Temperature and Forest Life 238 Plant Life Forms in Tropical Forests 243 Plant Life Forms 245 Biological Spectrum 249 Trees and Water 252 Transpiration, Water Potential, and Wilt 254 Mahogany 261 The Tropical Leaf 265 Sun Leaves and Shade Leaves 267 Dealing with Drought 271 Epiphytes 274 Lichens 278 Crassulacean Acid Metabolism 284 The Fight for Light - Upwardly Mobile Plants 286 Plants in the Shade - Parasites and Saprotrophs 289 Plant Defenses 293 Ant Plants 296 Carnivorous Plants 301 A Time to Flower 303 Flowers and Their Visitors 306 Pollination 307 Fruit and Seed Dispersal 319 Conclusions 325 Chapter 7 Biology of the Tropical Forest: Animals 330 Invertebrates of the Forest Floor 330 Insect Architecture 337 Canopy Invertebrates 340 Mimicry 344 Bees, Behavior, and Genetics 351 Forest Fish 356 Amphibians and Reptiles of the Forest 359 Tropical Forest Birds - the Fruit and Nectar Feeders 367 The Lek 378 Tropical Forest Birds - the Insect Eaters 381 Flesh-Eating Birds of the Forest 383 Mammals of the Forest Floor 386 Ecological Equivalents 388 Canopy Mammals 393 Tails 396 Conclusions 399 Chapter 8 Ancient History of Tropical Forests 405 Climatic and Biological History of the Earth 405 Geological History of Tropical Forests 410 The First Tropical Rain Forest 412 Climatic Changes during the Last Two Million Years 418 Pollen Analysis 421 Tropical Forests in the Last Two Million Years 425 Consequences of Forest Fragmentation 431 Conclusions 435 Chapter 9 People in the Tropical Forests 439 The Emergence of Modern Humans 439 Early Forest People 443 Domestication and Agriculture in the Forest 446 Easter Island 452 Human Populations and Disease in the Tropical Forests 454 Mosquitoes and Malaria 455 Modern Forest People 461 Shifting Cultivation 464 Forest Religions, Myths, and Rituals 468 Forest Exploration 471 Conclusions 474 Chapter 10 The Value of Tropical Forests 478 The Problem of Evaluation 478 Timber Production and Forestry 481 Teak 483 Non-timber Products of the Forest 486 Rubber 491 Forest Pharmacology 495 Quinine 497 Food from the Forest 501 The Forest as a Carbon Sink 503 Conclusions 507 Chapter 11 The Future of Tropical Forests 509 Forest Clearance 509 Fire in the Forest 514 Mining and Pollution 520 Climate Change and Tropical Forests 516 Ecotourism 523 Hunting and Disease 526 Conclusions 528 Chapter 12 General Conclusions 532 Further reading 540 Glossary Index
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication:
Forest ecology -- Tropics -- Juvenile literature.
Forests and forestry -- Juvenile literature.