Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

About this book

The tropics are regions of severe seasonal droughts. Until recently tropical `dry forests' were more widespread than rain forests, but have received scant attention. This volume provides a review of dry forests, including regional overviews, neotropical biogeography, palaeontology, plant ecology (structure, physiology, phenology, reproduction and herbivory), and ecosystem functions (biomass, nutrient cycling, below-ground dynamics and trace emission). Exploitation schemes and non-timber products are also surveyed.

Contents

1. Introduction Harold A. Mooney, Stephen H. Bullock and Ernesto Medina; 2. Dry forests of Central America and the Caribbean Peter G. Murphy and Ariel E. Lugo; 3. Overview of the Brazilian caastinga Evetrardo V. S. B. Sampaio; 4. Savannas, woodlands and dry forests in Africa J. C. Menaut, M. Lepage and L. Abbadie; 5. Dry forest ecosystems of Thailand Philip W. Rundel and Kansri Boonpragob; 6. The Cenozoic record of tropical dry forest in northern Latin America and the southern United States Alan Graham and David Dilcher; 7. Diversity and floristic composition of neotropical dry forests Alwyn H. Gentry; 8. Vertebrate diversity, ecology and conservation in neotropical dry forests Gerardo Ceballos; 9. Diversity of life forms of higher plants in neotropical dry forests Ernesto Medina; 10. Drought responses of neotropical dry forest trees N. Michele Holbrook, Julie L. Whitbeck and H. A. Mooney; 11. Plant reproduction in neotropical dry forests Stephen H. Bullock; 12. Plant-herbivore interactions in Mesoamerican tropical dry forests Rodolfo Dirzo and Cesar A. Dominguez; 13. Biomas distribution and primary productivity of tropical dry forests Angelina Martinez-Yrizar.

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