Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: Ecology, Conservation, and Management

 Content: Front Cover; Contents; Preface; Contributors; Chapter 1 Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: The Tropi- Dry Endeavor; Chapter 2 Tropical Dry Forest Ecological Succession in Mexico: Synthesis of a Long- Term Study; Chapter 3 Status of Knowledge, Conservation, and Management of Tropical Dry Forest in the Magdalena River Valley, Colombia; Chapter 4 Brazilian Tropical Dry Forest on Basalt and Limestone Outcrops: Status of Knowledge and Perspectives; Chapter 5 Tropical Dry Forests of Northern Minas Gerais, Brazil: Diversity, Conservation Status, and Natural Regeneration Chapter 6 A Review of Remote Sensing of Tropical Dry ForestsChapter 7 Phenological Patterns of Tropical Dry Forests along Latitudinal and Successional Gradients in the Neotropics; Chapter 8 Plant Functional Trait Variation in Tropical Dry Forests: A Review and Synthesis; Chapter 9 Nutrient Cycling in Tropical Dry Forests; Chapter 10 Edge Influence on Canopy Openness and Understory Microclimate in Two Neotropical Dry Forest Fragments; Chapter 11 Fruit- Eating Bats and Birds of Three Seasonal Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas Chapter 12 Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Insects in a Brazilian Tropical Dry ForestChapter 13 Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: Essential Belowground Organisms in Tropical Dry Environments; Chapter 14 An Evaluation of Rainfall Interception in Secondary Tropical Dry Forests; Chapter 15 Linkages among Ecosystem Structure, Composition, and Leaf Area Index along a Tropical Dry Forest Chronosequence in Mexico; Chapter 16 Seed Germination of Arboreal- Shrub Species with Different Dispersal Mechanisms in a Brazilian Tropical Dry Forest Chapter 17 Interspecific and Interannual Variation in Foliar Phenological Patterns in a Successional Mosaic of a Dry Forest in the Central Llanos of VenezuelaChapter 18 Floristic, Structural, and Functional Group Variations in Tree Assemblages in a Brazilian Tropical Dry Forest: Effects of Successional Stage and Soil Properties; Chapter 19 Tree Diameter Growth of Three Successional Stages of Tropical Dry Forests, Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica; Chapter 20 Carbon Dioxide Enrichment Effects in the Spectral Signature of Lianas and Tree Species from Tropical Dry Forests Chapter 21 Tropical Dry Forests in Latin America: Analyzing the History of Land Use and Present Socio- Ecological StrugglesChapter 22 Conflicts between Conservation Units and Traditional Communities in a Brazilian Tropical Dry Forest; Chapter 23 Predicting Policy Impact on Tropical Dry Forests; Chapter 24 Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Rural Communities in Areas of a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest in Serra do Cipó, Brazil; References; Color Insert; Back Cover
 Abstract:             Although under threat from natural and human disturbance, tropical dry forests are the most endangered ecosystem in the tropics, yet they rarely receive the scientific or conservation attention they deserve. In a comprehensive overview, Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: Ecology, Conservation, and Management examines new approaches for data sampling and analysis using remote sensing technology, discusses new ecological and econometric methods, and critically evaluates the socio-economic pressures that these forest are facing at the continental and national levels. The book includes studies