Relationship between annual rainfall and tree mortality in a tropical dry forest: Results of a 19-year study at Mudumalai, southern India

Variability in rainfall is known to be a major influence on the dynamics of tropical forests, especially rates and patterns of tree mortality. In tropical dry forests a number of contributing factors to tree mortality, including dry season fire and herbivory by large herbivorous mammals, could be related to rainfall patterns, while loss of water potential in trees during the dry season or a wet season drought could also result in enhanced rates of death. While tree mortality as influenced by severe drought has been examined in tropical wet forests there is insufficient understanding of this process in tropical dry forests. We examined these causal factors in relation to inter-annual differences in rainfall in causing tree mortality within a 50-ha Forest Dynamics Plot located in the tropical dry deciduous forests of Mudumalai, southern India, that has been monitored annually since 1988. Over a 19-year period (1988-2007) mean annual mortality rate of all stems >1 cm dbh was 6.9 +/- 4.6% (range = 1.5-17.5%); mortality rates broadly declined from the smaller to the larger size classes with the rates in stems >30 cm dbh being among the lowest recorded in tropical forest globally. Fire was the main agent of mortality in stems 1-5 cm dbh, elephant-herbivory in stems 5-10 cm dbh, and other natural causes in stems > 10 cm dbh. Elephant-related mortality did not show any relationship to rainfall. On the other hand, fire-related mortality was significantly negatively correlated to quantity of rainfall during the preceding year. Mortality due to other causes in the larger stem sizes was significantly negatively correlated to rainfall with a 2-3-year lag, suggesting that water deficit from mild or prolonged drought enhanced the risk of death but only with a time lag that was greater than similar lags in tree mortality observed in other forest types. In this respect, tropical dry forests growing in regions of high rainfall variability may have evolved greater resistance to rainfall deficit as compared to tropical moist or temperate forests but are still vulnerable to drought-related mortality.

Rural property size drives patterns of upland and riparian forest retention in a tropical deforestation frontier

Deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia accounts for a disproportionate global scale fraction of both carbon emissions from biomass burning and biodiversity erosion through habitat loss. Here we use field- and remote-sensing data to examine the effects of private landholding size on the amount and type of forest cover retained within economically active rural properties in an aging southern Amazonian deforestation frontier. Data on both upland and riparian forest cover from a survey of 300 rural properties indicated that 49.4% (SD = 29.0%) of the total forest cover was maintained as of 2007. and that property size is a key regional-scale determinant of patterns of deforestation and land-use change. Small properties (<= 150 ha) retained a lower proportion of forest (20.7%, SD = 17.6) than did large properties (>150 ha; 55.6%, SD = 27.2). Generalized linear models showed that property size had a positive effect on remaining areas of both upland and total forest cover. Using a Landsat time-series, the age of first clear-cutting that could be mapped within the boundaries of each property had a negative effect on the proportion of upland, riparian, and total forest cover retained. Based on these data, we show contrasts in land-use strategies between smallholders and largeholders, as well as differences in compliance with legal requirements in relation to minimum forest cover set-asides within private landholdings. This suggests that property size structure must be explicitly considered in landscape-scale conservation planning initiatives guiding agro-pastoral frontier expansion into remaining areas of tropical forest. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The succession dynamics of a macroalgal community after a flood disturbance in a tropical stream from São Paulo State, southeastern Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Using network connectance and autonomy analyses to uncover patterns of photosynthetic responses in tropical woody species

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Rural property size drives patterns of upland and riparian forest retention in a tropical deforestation frontier

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

External drivers of biogeochemical cycles in a tropical montane forest in Ecuador

Successful conservation of tropical montane forest, one of the most threatened ecosystems on earth, requires detailed knowledge of its biogeochemistry. Of particular interest is the response of the biogeochemical element cycles to external influences such as element deposition or climate change. Therefore the overall objective of my study was to contribute to improved understanding of role and functioning of the Andean tropical montane forest. In detail, my objectives were to determine (1) the role of long-range transported aerosols and their transport mechanisms, and (2) the role of short-term extreme climatic events for the element budget of Andean tropical forest. In a whole-catchment approach including three 8-13 ha microcatchments under tropical montane forest on the east-exposed slope of the eastern cordillera in the south Ecuadorian Andes at 1850-2200 m above sea level I monitored at least in weekly resolution the concentrations and fluxes of Ca, Mg, Na, K, NO3-N, NH4-N, DON, P, S, TOC, Mn, and Al in bulk deposition, throughfall, litter leachate, soil solution at the 0.15 and 0.3 m depths, and runoff between May 1998 and April 2003. I also used meteorological data from my study area collected by cooperating researchers and the Brazilian meteorological service (INPE), as well as remote sensing products of the North American and European space agencies NASA and ESA. My results show that (1) there was a strong interannual variation in deposition of Ca [4.4-29 kg ha-1 a-1], Mg [1.6-12], and K [9.8-30]) between 1998 and 2003. High deposition changed the Ca and Mg budgets of the catchments from loss to retention, suggesting that the additionally available Ca and Mg was used by the ecosystem. Increased base metal deposition was related to dust outbursts of the Sahara and an Amazonian precipitation pattern with trans-regional dry spells allowing for dust transport to the Andes. The increased base metal deposition coincided with a strong La Niña event in 1999/2000. There were also significantly elevated H+, N, and Mn depositions during the annual biomass burning period in the Amazon basin. Elevated H+ deposition during the biomass burning period caused elevated base metal loss from the canopy and the organic horizon and deteriorated already low base metal supply of the vegetation. Nitrogen was only retained during biomass burning but not during non-fire conditions when deposition was much smaller. Therefore biomass burning-related aerosol emissions in Amazonia seem large enough to substantially increase element deposition at the western rim of Amazonia. Particularly the related increase of acid deposition impoverishes already base-metal scarce ecosystems. As biomass burning is most intense during El Niño situations, a shortened ENSO cycle because of global warming likely enhances the acid deposition at my study forest. (2) Storm events causing near-surface water flow through C- and nutrient-rich topsoil during rainstorms were the major export pathway for C, N, Al, and Mn (contributing >50% to the total export of these elements). Near-surface flow also accounted for one third of total base metal export. This demonstrates that storm-event related near-surface flow markedly affects the cycling of many nutrients in steep tropical montane forests. Changes in the rainfall regime possibly associated with global climate change will therefore also change element export from the study forest. Element budgets of Andean tropical montane rain forest proved to be markedly affected by long-range transport of Saharan dust, biomass burning-related aerosols, or strong rainfalls during storm events. Thus, increased acid and nutrient deposition and the global climate change probably drive the tropical montane forest to another state with unknown consequences for its functions and biological diversity.

Plurality of tree species responses to drought perturbation in Bornean tropical rain forest

Drought perturbation driven by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a principal stochastic variable determining the dynamics of lowland rain forest in S.E. Asia. Mortality, recruitment and stem growth rates at Danum in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo) were recorded in two 4-ha plots (trees ≥ 10 cm gbh) for two periods, 1986–1996 and 1996–2001. Mortality and growth were also recorded in a sample of subplots for small trees (10 to <50 cm gbh) in two sub-periods, 1996–1999 and 1999–2001. Dynamics variables were employed to build indices of drought response for each of the 34 most abundant plot-level species (22 at the subplot level), these being interval-weighted percentage changes between periods and sub-periods. A significant yet complex effect of the strong 1997/1998 drought at the forest community level was shown by randomization procedures followed by multiple hypothesis testing. Despite a general resistance of the forest to drought, large and significant differences in short-term responses were apparent for several species. Using a diagrammatic form of stability analysis, different species showed immediate or lagged effects, high or low degrees of resilience or even oscillatory dynamics. In the context of the local topographic gradient, species’ responses define the newly termed perturbation response niche. The largest responses, particularly for recruitment and growth, were among the small trees, many of which are members of understorey taxa. The results bring with them a novel approach to understanding community dynamics: the kaleidoscopic complexity of idiosyncratic responses to stochastic perturbations suggests that plurality, rather than neutrality, of responses may be essential to understanding these tropical forests. The basis to the various responses lies with the mechanisms of tree-soil water relations which are physiologically predictable: the timing and intensity of the next drought, however, is not. To date, environmental stochasticity has been insufficiently incorporated into models of tropical forest dynamics, a step that might considerably improve the reality of theories about these globally important ecosystems.

Aluminum toxicity to tropical montane forest tree seedlings in southern Ecuador: response of biomass and plant morphology to elevated Al concentrations

In acid tropical forest soils (pH < 5.5) increased mobility of aluminum might limit aboveground productivity. Therefore, we evaluated Al phytotoxicity of three native tree species of tropical montane forests in southern Ecuador. An hydroponic dose-response experiment was conducted. Seedlings of Cedrela odorata L., Heliocarpus americanus L., and Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacq.) G. Nicholson were treated with 0, 300, 600, 1200, and 2400 mu M Al and an organic layer leachate. Dose-response curves were generated for root and shoot morphologic properties to determine effective concentrations (EC). Shoot biomass and healthy leaf area decreased by 44 % to 83 % at 2400 mu M Al, root biomass did not respond (C. odorata), declined by 51 % (H. americanus), or was stimulated at low Al concentrations of 300 mu M (T. chrysantha). EC10 (i.e. reduction by 10 %) values of Al for total biomass were 315 mu M (C. odorata), 219 mu M (H. americanus), and 368 mu M (T. chrysantha). Helicarpus americanus, a fast growing pioneer tree species, was most sensitive to Al toxicity. Negative effects were strongest if plants grew in organic layer leachate, indicating limitation of plant growth by nutrient scarcity rather than Al toxicity. Al toxicity occurred at Al concentrations far above those in native organic layer leachate.

Aluminum toxicity in a tropical montane forest ecosystem in southern Ecuador

Aluminum phytotoxicity frequently occurs in acid soils (pH < 5.5) and was therefore discussed to affect ecosystem functioning of tropical montane forests. The susceptibility to Al toxicity depends on the sensitivity of the plant species and the Al speciation in soil solution, which can vary highly depending e.g., on pH, ionic strength, and dissolved organic matter. An acidification of the ecosystem and periodic base metal deposition from Saharan dust may control plant available Al concentrations in the soil solutions of tropical montane rainforests in south Ecuador. The overall objective of my study was to assess a potential Al phytotoxicity in the tropical montane forests in south Ecuador. For this purpose, I exposed three native Al non-accumulating tree species (Cedrela odorata L., Heliocarpus americanus L., and Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacq.) G. Nicholson) to increased Al concentrations (0 – 2400 μM Al) in a hydroponic experiment, I established dose-response curves to estimate the sensitivity of the tree species to increased Al concentrations, and I investigated the mechanisms behind the observed effects induced by elevated Al concentrations. Furthermore, the response of Al concentrations and the speciation in soil solution to Ca amendment in the study area were determined. In a final step, I assessed all major Al fluxes, drivers of Al concentrations in ecosystem solutions, and indicators of Al toxicity in the tropical montane rainforest in Ecuador in order to test for indications of Al toxicity. In the hydroponic experiment, a 10 % reduction in aboveground biomass production occurred at 126 to 376 μM Al (EC10 values), probably attributable to decreased Mg concentrations in leaves and reduced potosynthesis. At 300 μM Al, increased root biomass production of T. chrysantha was observed. Phosphorus concentrations in roots of C. odorata and T. chrysantha were significantly highest in the treatment with 300 μM Al and correlated significantly with root biomass, being a likely reason for stimulated root biomass production. The degree of organic complexation of Al in the organic layer leachate, which is central to plant nutrition because of the high root density, and soil solution from the study area was very high (mean > 99 %). The resulting low free Al concentrations are not likely to affect plant growth, although the concentrations of potentially toxic Al3+ increased with soil depth due to higher total Al and lower dissolved organic matter concentrations in soil solutions. The Ca additions caused an increase of Al in the organic layer leachate, probably because Al3+ was exchanged against the added Ca2+ ions while pH remained constant. The free ion molar ratios of Ca2+:Al3+ (mean ratio ca. 400) were far above the threshold (≤ 1) for Al toxicity, because of a much higher degree of organo-complexation of Al than Ca. High Al fluxes in litterfall (8.8 – 14.2 kg ha−1 yr−1) indicate a high Al circulation through the ecosystem. The Al concentrations in the organic layer leachate were driven by the acidification of the ecosystem and increased significantly between 1999 and 2008. However, the Ca:Al molar ratios in organic layer leachate and all aboveground ecosystem solutions were above the threshold for Al toxicity. Except for two Al accumulating and one non-accumulating tree species, the Ca:Al molar ratios in tree leaves from the study area were above the Al toxicity threshold of 12.5. I conclude that toxic effects in the hydroponic experiment occurred at Al concentrations far above those in native organic layer leachate, shoot biomass production was likely inhibited by reduced Mg uptake, impairing photosynthesis, and the stimulation of root growth at low Al concentrations can be possibly attributed to improved P uptake. Dissolved organic matter in soil solutions detoxifies Al in acidic tropical forest soils and a wide distribution of Al accumulating tree species and high Al fluxes in the ecosystem do not necessarily imply a general Al phytotoxicity.

Simulating Carbon Stocks and Fluxes of an African Tropical Montane Forest with an Individual-Based Forest Model

Tropical forests are carbon-dense and highly productive ecosystems. Consequently, they play an important role in the global carbon cycle. In the present study we used an individual-based forest model (FORMIND) to analyze the carbon balances of a tropical forest. The main processes of this model are tree growth, mortality, regeneration, and competition. Model parameters were calibrated using forest inventory data from a tropical forest at Mt. Kilimanjaro. The simulation results showed that the model successfully reproduces important characteristics of tropical forests (aboveground biomass, stem size distribution and leaf area index). The estimated aboveground biomass (385 t/ha) is comparable to biomass values in the Amazon and other tropical forests in Africa. The simulated forest reveals a gross primary production of 24 tcha-1yr-1. Modeling above- and belowground carbon stocks, we analyzed the carbon balance of the investigated tropical forest. The simulated carbon balance of this old-growth forest is zero on average. This study provides an example of how forest models can be used in combination with forest inventory data to investigate forest structure and local carbon balances.

Crecimiento forestal en el bosque tropical de montaña: efectos de la diversidad florística y de la manipulación de nutrientes

El bosque tropical de montaña, es considerado zona de mega diversidad y de alto grado de endemismo, por las diferentes zonas ecológicas que presenta. Durante las últimas décadas estos bosques han recibido mayor atención por parte de investigadores, sin embargo, aún existe poca investigación en determinar cuáles son las respuestas de los bosques a los cambios ambientales a los que son sometidos. Estos bosques están sufriendo serias amenazas como pérdida de cobertura vegetal y cambios en los ciclos de nutrientes. El trabajo se dividió en cuatro objetivos específicos. i) Caracterización y análisis de patrones altitudinales de la riqueza de especies en el bosque tropical de montaña en el sur del Ecuador; con el fin de conocer cómo varía la diversidad de especies riqueza lo largo de un gradiente altitudinal. ii) Conocer los patrones espaciales del crecimiento en tres remanentes boscosos de un bosque tropical de montaña para determinar cómo la vecindad y la semejanza funcional de ésta influyen en el crecimiento forestal. iii) Conocer los efectos de la fertilización en el crecimiento diamétrico de especies arbóreas, en el bosque tropical de montaña; se analizó cómo reaccionan los árboles a la adición de nutrientes N y P en tres tipos de bosque. iv) Saber la respuesta de la comunidad de árboles a la adición de nutrientes en el bosque montano andino; este objetivo se basó con el supuesto de la deficiencia de tres tipos de nutrientes N, P y Ca, en esta formación boscosa y cómo reaccionan los árboles a la adición de nutrientes. El presente trabajo se llevó a cabo, en el bosque tropical de montaña que se encuentra localizada en la parte adyacente del Parque Nacional Podocarpus (PNP) en la cordillera del Consuelo, forma parte de la cadena oriental de los Andes del sur del Ecuador El trabajo de desarrollo entre los años 2008 y 2014. Para abordar el primer objetivo se establecieron 54 parcelas ubicadas aleatoriamente a lo largo de un gradiente altitudinal (3 niveles de altitud) y se e midieron e identificaron todos los individuos mayores a 5cm de DAP. Se construyó una filogenia con Phylocom y se calcularon diferentes componentes de diversidad para cada parcela ( riqueza taxonómica, diversidad filogenética y edad media de las especies). Ajustando modelos lineares se contrastó el efecto de la altitud sobre dichos componentes y se vio que la riqueza taxonómica y la edad media de las especies aumentaron con la altitud, en sentido contrario a las predicciones de la "hipótesis del conservadurismo tropical" (Tropical Conservatism Hypothesis). Para abordar el segundo objetivo se realizó una remedición de todos los árboles cartografiados en tres parcelas permanentes de alrededor de 5000 m2 cada una, representativas de tres estados diferentes de la sucesión del bosque montano. A partir de las coordenadas y de los datos de registrados, y empleando diferentes funciones de correlación de marca se analizó la distribución espacial del tamaño y del crecimiento relativo y del tamaño. Se constató que mientras que el tamaño de los árboles presentó una correlación espacial negativa, el crecimiento presentó correlación espacial positiva, en ambos casos a distancias cortas. El rango y la magnitud de ambas correlaciones aumentaron al avanzar la sucesión. La distribución espacial del crecimiento mostró una correlación negativa con la distribución espacial de tamaños. Por otro lado, la distribución espacial del crecimiento mostró una correlación negativa para árboles semejantes funcionalmente y positiva cuando se calculó entre árboles con diferente estrategia funcional. En conjunto, los resultados obtenidos señalan un aumento de la importancia de procesos competitivos y una mayor estructuración espacial del crecimiento y de la distribución de tamaños al avanzar la sucesión. Para el tercer y cuarto objetivo se instalaron 52 parcelas distribuidas en bloques donde se fertilizaron dos veces al año durante 6,4 años, se identificaron todos los individuos mayores a 10 cm de DAP, y se midió el crecimiento diamétrico durante estos años Con la adición de nutrientes realizada a los diferentes tipos de bosque en la gradiente altitudinal, encontramos que el efecto sobre el crecimiento diamétrico en la comunidad varia con el rango altitudinal, y el tipo de nutriente, analizando a nivel de las especies, en la mayoría de los casos las especies comunes no tuvieron cambios significativos a la adición de nutrientes. Los resultados de este estudio aportan nuevas evidencias para el entendimiento de la diversidad, estructura y dinámica de los bosques tropicales de montaña. ABSTRACT The montane tropical forest is considered a megadiverse habitat that harbor an enormous degree of endemism. This is mainly due to the high degree of environmental heterogeneity found and the presence of different well defined ecological areas. These forests have received more attention during the last decades, however, the information regarding the responses of these forests to environmental change, is still scarce. These forests are seriously endangered and are suffering serious threats, such as loss of vegetative cover, changes in the nutrient cycles. The work was divided in four specific objectives: i) Characterization and analysis of the species richness altitudinal patterns in the montane tropical forest of south Ecuador. Specifically, how species diversity changes along altitudinal gradients. ii) Exploring the spatial patterns of tree growth in three remnants of a montane tropical forest, and analyze how tree neighborhood and functional similarity among trees influence tree growth. Tropical Conservatism Hypothesis iii) Understanding the effects of fertilization in arboreal species growth (increase in diameter) of the montane tropical forest. Specifically we studied the effects of P and N addition on three different forests across an altitudinal gradient. iv) Know the response of the community of trees to the addition of nutrients in the Andean montane forest; this objective was based on the supposition of deficiency of three types of nutrients: P, N and Ca in this forest all formation and how the trees react to the addition of these nutrients. The present work was carried out in the montane tropical forest located in Bombuscaro, San Francisco and Cajanuma close to Podocarpus National Park (PNP) on Consuelo mountain range (Andean oriental range) at South of Ecuador. Field work was carried out during 2008 and 2014. To address the first objective, we randomly placed 54 plots along an altitudinal gradient. In these plots, every individual larger than 5 cm of DBH was measured and identified. A phylogeny was build with Phylocom and different diversity components (taxonomic richness, phylogenetic diversity and average species age) were computed for each plot. Linear models were used to test the effects of altitude on the diversity components. Our results showed that, contrary to the Tropical Conservatism Hypothesis, both taxonomic richness and average species age increased with altitude. To address our second objective, all mapped trees in three successional permanent plots (around ~5000 m2 each) were re-measured. Using different mark correlation functions, we analyzed the spatial distribution of tree-size and tree relative growth rate. Whereas tree size showed negative spatial correlation at fine spatial scales, relative growth rate showed positive correlation at the same scales. The range and magnitude of those correlations increased along successional stage. The spatial distribution of the relative growth rate was negatively correlated with the spatial distribution of tree sizes. Additionally, we found that the spatial correlation of the relative growth rate was negative for functionally similar trees and positive when computed for functionally different trees. In synthesis, our results point to an increase of competitive processes and strong spatial structure of relative growth rate and tree size along succession. For the third and fourth objectives, 52 plots were placed in a block design and were fertilized twice a year for 6,4 years. In these plots all the individuals with DBH > 10 cm were identified, and the diametrical growth was measured during these years. The nutrient addition at the three different altitude forests, revealed that the effect on the diametrical growth in the community varied with the altitudinal range. When analyzed at species level, the addition of nutrients was no significant in most cases. These results represent new evidences that will improved our understanding of diversity patterns and structure, and the dynamics of tropical montane forests.

Directed seed dispersal by bellbirds in a tropical cloud forest

A fundamental goal of plant population ecology is to understand the consequences for plant fitness of seed dispersal by animals. Theories of seed dispersal and tropical forest regeneration suggest that the advantages of seed dispersal for most plants are escape from seed predation near the parent tree and colonization of vacant sites, the locations of which are unpredictable in space and time. Some plants may gain in fitness as a fortuitous consequence of disperser behavior if certain species of dispersers nonrandomly place seeds in sites predictably favorable for seedling establishment. Such patterns of directed dispersal by vertebrates long have been suggested but never demonstrated for tropical forest trees. Here we report the pattern of seed distribution and 1-year seedling survival generated by five species of birds for a neotropical, shade-tolerant tree. Four of the species dispersed seeds to sites near the parent trees with microhabitat characteristics similar to those at random locations, whereas the fifth species, a bellbird, predictably dispersed seeds under song perches in canopy gaps. The pattern of seedling recruitment was bimodal, with a peak near parent trees and a second peak, corresponding to bellbird song perches, far (>40 m) from parent trees. Seedling survival was higher for seeds dispersed by bellbirds than by the other species, because of a reduction in seedling mortality by fungal pathogens in gaps. Thus, bellbirds play a significant role in seed dispersal by providing directed dispersal to favorable sites and therefore may influence plant recruitment patterns and species diversity in Neotropical forests.

Simulating Forest Shade to Study the Developmental Ecology of Tropical Plants: Juvenile Growth in Three Vines in India

Both light quantity and quality affect the development and autoecology of plants under shade conditions, as in the understorey of tropical forests. However, little research has been directed towards the relative contributions of lowered photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) versus altered spectral distributions (as indicated by quantum ratios of 660 to 730 nm, or R:FR) of radiation underneath vegetation canopies. A method for constructing shade enclosures to study the contribution of these two variables is described. Three tropical leguminous vine species (Abrus precatorius L., Caesalpinia bondicela Fleming and Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC.) were grown in two shade enclosures with 3-4% of solar PPFD with either the R:FR of sunlight (1.10) or foliage shade (0.33), and compared to plants grown in sunlight. Most species treated with low R:FR differed from those treated with high R:FR in (1) percent allocation to dry leaf weight, (2) internode length, (3) dry stem weight/length, (4) specific leaf weight, (5) leaf size, and (6) chlorophyll a/b ratios. However, these plants did not differ in chlorophyll content per leaf dry weight or area. In most cases the effects of low R:FR and PPFD were additional to those of high R:FR and low PPFD. Growth patterns varied among the three species, but both low PPFD and diminished R:FR were important cues in their developmental responses to light environments. This shadehouse system should be useful in studying the effects of light on the developmental ecology of other tropical forest plants.

Lianas and soil nutrients predict fine-scale distribution of above-ground biomass in a tropical moist forest

Acknowledgements. This study was supported by the FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IEF Marie-Curie Action – SPATFOREST. Tree data from BCI were provided by the Center for Tropical Forest Science of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and the primary granting agencies that have supported the BCI plot tree census. Data for the liana censuses were supported by the US National Science Foundation grants: DEB-0613666, DEB-0845071, and DEB-1019436 (to SAS). Soil data was funded by the National Science Foundation grants DEB021104, DEB021115, DEB0212284 and DEB0212818 supporting soils mapping in the BCI plot. We thank Helene Muller-Landau for providing some data on tree height for some BCI trees. We also thank all the people that contributed to obtain the data.

Image classification accuracy from LANDSAT data for tropical rain forest in Sumatra: An evaluation of ERDAS imagine software

Abstract not available