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This 1998 volume challenges the validity of the dynamic equilibrium concept for tropical forests.
This book provides a current and comprehensive review of the Dipterocarpaceae, at the genetic, species, and community scales, incorporating a vibrant blend of ecology, biogeography, evolution, conservation, and management.
Audience: An extremely important, landmark study of Malaysian vegetation, of interest to students and professionals in plant science, tropical botany, ecology, biogeography, climatology, physical geography, and remote sensing as applied to vegetation science.
This book presents a timely collection of pioneering work in the study of these diverse and fascinating ecosystems. It consists of facsimiles of papers chosen by world experts in tropical biology as the 'classics' in the field.
Of the vast area of structurally similar vegetation that forms the Far Eastern tropical rain forest block, only the forests of peninsular Malaysia lie on the mainland of Asia. Although showing some influence from this source, the flora and fauna are distinctive and exceedingly rich in species. Among other factors, this richness reflects the complex structure of the vegetation, justly famous for the extensive stands of tall trees that create the conditions to which many smaller plants, fungi and a huge variety of animals are adapted. After a century of scientific investigation, it is now possible to understand peninsular Malaysia's complex ecosystem as an essential prerequisite to the successful management for conservation and long-term productivity in the area. Compiled by authors with personal experience of the region, this book constitutes the most authoritative account of this diverse and fragile region. It is essential reading for all those interested in Malaysia and its conservation.
Ecologists can spend a lifetime researching a small patch of the earth, studying the interactions between organisms and the environment, and exploring the roles those interactions play in determining distribution, abundance, and evolutionary change. With so few ecologists and so many systems to study, generalizations are essential. But how do you extrapolate knowledge about a well-studied area and apply it elsewhere? Through a range of original essays written by eminent ecologists and naturalists, The Ecology of Place explores how place-focused research yields exportable general knowledge as well as practical local knowledge, and how society can facilitate ecological understanding by investing in field sites, place-centered databases, interdisciplinary collaborations, and field-oriented education programs that emphasize natural history. This unique patchwork of case-study narratives, philosophical musings, and historical analyses is tied together with commentaries from editors Ian Billick and Mary Price that develop and synthesize common threads. The result is a unique volume rich with all-too-rare insights into how science is actually done, as told by scientists themselves.