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Latin America is a megadiverse territory hosting several hotspots of plant diversity and many types of forest biomes, ecosystems and climate types, from tropical rainforest to semi-arid woodlands. This combination of diverse forests and climates generates multiple responses to ecological changes affecting the structure and functioning of forest ecosystems. Recently, there have been major efforts to improve our understanding of such impacts on ecosystems processes. However, there is a dearth of studies focused on Latin-American forest ecosystems that could provide novel insights into the patterns and mechanisms of ecological processes in response to environmental stress.
The abundance of "New World" tree species with dendrochronological potential constitutes an ideal opportunity to improve the ecological state of knowledge regarding these diverse forest types, which are often threatened by several impacts such as logging or conversion to agricultural lands. Thus, detailed information on the dendroecology of these species will improve our understanding of forests in the face of global change. Accordingly, Latin American Dendroecology identifies numerous relevant ecological processes and scales, ranging from tree species to populations and communities, and from both dendrochronological and dendroecological perspectives. It offers a valuable reference guide for the exploration of long-term ecological interactions between trees and their environmental conditions, and will foster further research and international projects on the continent and elsewhere.
Dr Marín Pompa-García is a Professor-Researcher of the Faculty of Forestry Sciences of the UJED and leads the Dendroecology Network in Mexico. His research interests include geospatial analysis and ecology of forestry ecosystems, particularly through the use of tree-ring analysis. This scientific knowledge has been developed with projects funded by external institutions and disseminated through scientific publications. In addition to students, a range of national and international research groups participate in these projects and this collaborative effort has facilitated several academic placements abroad. Dr Pompa-García is a member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico and has twice been awarded the Durango State Prize for science, technology and innovation.
Dr J. Julio (Chechu) Camarero is a researcher at the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (CSIC), Zaragoza, Spain. He leads the dendroecology and forest ecology group at the CSIC, where he has established both national and international collaborative networks. An expert on dendroecology and forest ecology, his main research interests include understanding the growth, mortality and recruitment patterns in woody plant communities, particularly forests. He has published more than 250 SCI papers and several book chapters, chiefly in the areas of forest dieback, treeline dynamics, tree responses to biotic stressors (defoliating insects, fungal pathogens) and xylogenesis (phenology of radial growth).
