Tropical Forest Canopies: Ecology and Management: Proceedings of ESF Conference, Oxford University, 12–16 December 1998 (Forestry Sciences, 69)

Almost half of all life on earth may exist in the world's forest canopies. They may also play a vital role in maintaining the planet's climate, yet they remain largely unexplored owing to difficulties of access. They are renowned for their great diversity and role in forest functioning, yet there are still great gaps in the understanding of this 'last biological frontier'. This seminal book shows how canopy science is now in a position to answer many of the outstanding questions, among which are some of the most pressing environmental issues society is presently facing. It represents a major summary of the current understanding of canopy ecology, and maps a path forward into a greater understanding of tropical forest ecology and management at a time when the very future of this ecosystem is threatened by humanity's actions. Front Matter....Pages i-3 Introduction — Canopy science: time to shape up....Pages 5-11 Alice grows up: canopy science in transition from Wonderland to Reality....Pages 13-21 Forest canopy research: sampling problems, and some solutions....Pages 23-38 Plants in the forest canopy: some reflections on current research and future direction....Pages 39-50 Epiphytes and their contribution to canopy diversity....Pages 51-63 Plant size: an ignored parameter in epiphyte ecophysiology?....Pages 65-72 Pollination and phenology of flowers in the canopy of two contrasting rain forest types in Amazonia, Colombia....Pages 73-85 Invertebrates in the canopy of tropical rain forests How much do we really know?....Pages 87-107 Arboreal tropical forest vertebrates: current knowledge and research trends....Pages 109-120 Vertical stratification of figs and fig-eaters in a Bornean lowland rain forest: how is the canopy different?....Pages 121-132 Understorey versus canopy: patterns of vertical stratification and diversity among Lepidoptera in a Bornean rain forest....Pages 133-152 The influence of anthropogenic disturbances on the structure of arboreal arthropod communities....Pages 153-167 Seasonal changes in the canopy arthropod fauna in Rinorea beniensis in Budongo Forest, Uganda....Pages 169-178 Arthropods in tropical oaks: differences in their spatial distributions within tree crowns....Pages 179-191 Behaviour and ecology of birds in tropical rain forest canopies....Pages 193-202 Canopy processes: implications for transpiration, interception and splash induced erosion, ultimately for forest management and water resources....Pages 203-214 Modelling rainfall and canopy controls on net-precipitation beneath selectively-logged tropical forest....Pages 215-229 Micrometeorological conditions and canopy energy exchanges of a neotropical rain forest (Surumoni-Crane Project, Venezuela)....Pages 231-239 The influence of epiphyte cover on branch temperature in a tropical tree....Pages 241-250 Forest light and its influence on habitat selection....Pages 251-261 Methods to assess tropical rain forest canopy structure: an overview....Pages 263-277 Tree architecture in a Bornean lowland rain forest: intraspecific and interspecific patterns....Pages 279-292 Canopy surface topography in a French Guiana forest and the folded forest theory....Pages 293-300 Crown typology and the identification of rain forest trees on large-scale aerial photographs....Pages 301-312 The management implications of canopy research....Pages 313-317 Neotropical bats in the canopy: diversity, community structure, and implications for conservation....Pages 319-333 Reproductive ecology of tropical forest trees in logged and fragmented habitats in Thailand and Costa Rica....Pages 335-345 Edge effects and tropical forest canopy invertebrates....Pages 347-359 Enhancement of forest canopy research, education, and conservation in the new millennium....Pages 361-367 Back Matter....Pages 369-370