How tropical forests work
What defines a tropical forest
Location
Climate
characteristics
forest
vs. other habitats
Not
all tropical forests the same - variation in forests
Holdridge
Zone (wet vs. dry vs. montane forests)
General characteristics of tropical forests
Diversity
!!!
Why
are tropical forests so diverse?
2
components the creation and the maintenance of diversity
Creation
of diversity (speciation)
Refugia
Stability
Greater
contiguous area
Maintenance
of Diversity
Equilibrium
vs. non-equilibrium hypothesis
niche
specialization
compensatory
mortality
vs.
intermediate disturbance
random
process
Structure
(focus on lowland moist forest)
Structural
complexity - layers
Unique
characteristics (buttresses, lianas, epiphytes, palms, etc)
Importance
of plant-animal interactions
Different
than temperate?
seed
dispersal/predation
pollination
herbivory
Soil
Nutrients and nutrient cycling
Implications for human disturbance and management