Skip to main content
  • Book
  • © 2011

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

Ecology and Conservation

  • The importance of tropical dry forests to global biodiversity
  • The expertise of the editors and contributors to this volume
  • A broad range of subjects including distribution of tropical dry forests, biodiversity of flora and fauna (from community to genetic level), physiological ecology, plant animal interactions, ecosystem processes, and conservation biology

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (17 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiii
  2. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests as a Natural System

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Neotropical Seasonally Dry Forests: Diversity, Endemism, and Biogeography of Woody Plants

      • Reynaldo Linares-Palomino, Ary T. Oliveira-Filho, R. Toby Pennington
      Pages 3-21
    3. Extent and Drivers of Change of Neotropical Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

      • G. Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa, Carlos Portillo-Quintero
      Pages 45-57
  3. Animal Biodiversity of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 59-59
    2. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Soil Diversity and Functioning

      • Diana H. Wall, Grizelle González, Breana L. Simmons
      Pages 61-70
    3. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Mammals: Adaptations and Seasonal Patterns

      • Kathryn E. Stoner, Robert M. Timm
      Pages 85-106
  4. Ecosystem Processes in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 107-107
    2. Primary Productivity and Biogeochemistry of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

      • VÍctor J. Jaramillo, Angelina MartÍnez-YrÍzar, Robert L. Sanford Jr.
      Pages 109-128
  5. Human Impacts and Conservation in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 157-157
    2. Human Impacts on Pollination, Reproduction, and Breeding Systems in Tropical Forest Plants

      • Mauricio Quesada, Fernando Rosas, Ramiro Aguilar, Lorena Ashworth, Víctor M. Rosas-Guerrero, Roberto Sayago et al.
      Pages 173-194
    3. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Biodiversity and Conservation Value in Agricultural Landscapes of Mesoamerica

      • Robin L. Chazdon, Celia A. Harvey, Miguel Martínez-Ramos, Patricia Balvanera, Jorge E. Schondube, Kathryn E. Stoner et al.
      Pages 195-219
    4. Pasture Recolonization by a Tropical Oak and the Regeneration Ecology of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

      • Jeffrey A. Klemens, Nicholas J. Deacon, Jeannine Cavender-Bares
      Pages 221-237
    5. Ecosystem Services in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

      • Patricia Balvanera, Alicia Castillo, MarÍa JosÉ MartÍnez-Harms
      Pages 259-277

About this book

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests brings together a range of experts in diverse fields including biology, ecology, biogeography, and biogeochemistry, to review, synthesize, and explain the current state of our collective knowledge on the ecology and conservation of this endangered ecosystem.

The book offers a synthetic and cross-disciplinary review of recent work with an expansive scope, including sections on distribution, diversity, ecosystem function, and human impacts. Throughout, contributors emphasize conservation issues, particularly emerging threats and promising solutions, with key chapters on climate change, fragmentation, restoration, ecosystem services, and sustainable use.

Seasonally dry tropical forests represent scientific terrain that is poorly explored, and there is an urgent need for increased understanding. This book represents an important step in bringing together the most current scientific information about this vital ecosystem.

About the authors

Rodolfo Dirzo and Harold A. Mooney are Professors, and Hillary S. Young is a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Biology, Stanford University. Gerardo Ceballos is a Professor of Biology at Instituto de Ecología, at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Bibliographic Information

Societies and partnerships