Ecology of an African Rain Forest

• Description

Summarizes twenty years of research in the Kibale forest in Uganda, one of the most important centres for the study of tropical forests in Africa. Among the longest ongoing projects in rain forest ecology anywhere, Struhsaker's differs from the great majority of logging studies by emphasizing the fauna rather than looking only at the commercially valuable timber species. By providing long-term data on a variety of plants and animals, it offers the first in-depth synthesis of the consequences of selective logging in the tropics. The long-term data summarized here on the population dynamics of rain forest trees, primates, rodents, duikers, and elephants is presently unrivalled and will be widely cited. Struhsaker addresses the underlying causes of tropical deforestation and concludes that although there are numerous proximate factors, the ultimate causes are rapidly increasing human populations and the rates of consumption per capita.