A demographic study was carried out on Bertholletia excelsa, the Brazil nut tree, in two primary forest sites in Northern Bolivia where Brazil nuts have been harvested for several decades. In spite of the large proportion (93%) of seeds that are harvested, reasonable densities of recently emerged seedlings were found. Seeds of Bertholletia are contained in woody fruits that are primarily opened by agoutis. Most fruits are left untouched on the forest floor for 1–2 y before they are opened, possibly due to high energetic costs of fruit opening just after fruit fall. However, the proportion of viable seeds is strongly reduced in older fruits.

Growth in diameter at breast height (dbh) was low for pole-sized trees (< 15 cm dbh) and adult trees (> 100 cm dbh) and peaked for intermediate-sized trees (30–60 cm). These trees often attained a growth rate of > 1.5 cm y−1, which is high compared with other non-pioneer tropical trees. This, and the strong growth response to increased light availability found for seedlings and saplings, suggest that Bertholletia excelsa can be classified as a gap-dependent species. Matrix population models were constructed for both study populations. Population growth rates (λ) were close to one, and were most sensitive to persistence in one size category. Age estimates revealed that age at first reproduction (at dbh > 60 cm) amounts to over 120 y, and age in the last category (dbh > 160 cm) to almost 300 y. Given the continuous rejuvenation of the population, the stable population size, the high age at maturity and the long reproductive period, it is concluded that current levels of Brazil nut extraction may be sustained at least for several decades and perhaps for even longer periods.

In central Amazonian white-water floodplains (várzea), different forest types become established in relation to the flood-level gradient. The formations are characterized by typical patterns of species composition, and their architecture results in different light reflectance patterns, which can be detected by Landsat TM image data. Ground checking comprised a detailed forest inventory of 4 ha, with Digital Elevation Models (DEM) being generated for all sites. The results indicate that, at the average flood level of 3 m, species diversity and architecture of the forests changes, thus justifying the classification into the categories of low várzea (várzea baixa) and high várzea (várzea alta). In a first step to scale up, the study sites were observed by aerial photography. Tree heights, crown sizes, the projected crown area coverage and the gap frequencies provide information, which confirms a remotely sensed classification into three different forest types. The structure of low várzea depends on the successional stage, and species diversity increases with increasing age of the formations. In high várzea, only one successional stage was found and species diversity is higher than in all low-várzea formations. The more complex architecture of the high-várzea forest results in a more diffuse behaviour pattern in pixel distribution, when scanned by TM image data.

The arthropod fauna inhabiting 90 individuals of three different species of epiphyte was investigated in the moist lowland forest of the Barro Colorado National Monument in Panama. In total, 3694 arthropods belonging to 89 morphospecies and 19 orders were collected. While arthropod abundance was primarily a function of host plant biomass irrespective of epiphyte species, there were pronounced differences in species richness, species composition and guild structure of the arthropod faunas of the three epiphyte species. Although all study plants were growing in close proximity on the same host tree species, there was remarkably little overlap in the species assemblages across epiphyte taxa. The inhabitant species also differed dramatically in their ecological functions, as feeding guild and hunting guild analyses indicated. The influence of plant size, structure and impounded leaf litter on arthropod diversity is discussed. We conclude that epiphytes are microhabitats for a diverse and numerous fauna, and that different species of epiphytes foster both taxonomically and ecologically very distinct arthropod assemblages.

This study is the first to compare bird communities across different sites within the same large continuous neotropical primary forest area. The objectives were to document bird distribution patterns, the spatial variability of specific abundances and the between-site turnover in species compositions. I censused 268 forest-interior species, 39 raptors and 135 natural-gap species in 20 widely spaced, c. 2000-ha sites in the interior of French Guiana, divided into three main zones. At least 59% of species had a very low abundance index and/or rate of occurrence among sites and only 1% were widespread dominants. Beta diversity was an important determinant of regional species richness. There was an average 29% species turnover between sites and 7% between regions, as well as a lack of nested-subset structure among communities and a random occurrence of pairs of similar congeners. At the country scale, only one species had a truly restricted geographical range, independent of habitat availability, but at a local scale, many species had uneven distributional gaps (36% present at < 50% of sites with suitable habitat). Among sites, abundance or incidence variability had no definite pattern. Frequency of occurrence in suitable patches decreased with increasing natural fragmentation of habitats. There were significant relationships between habitat selection and abundance or frequency of occurrence but not with diet or body size. Few species exhibited consistent geographical trends along the north-south gradient of decreasing rainfall. Guianan endemics tended to be widespread within the country. Several seasonal movements and inter-annual population fluctuations were documented. Rarity had different forms, but no general ecological correlates. Nearly half of rare species were associated with various types of forest gaps or edges, and were consequently more abundant outside the forest zone, i.e. in grasslands or clearings. Local occurrences and abundances seem to be the result of highly species-specific factors, and hence any general determinant of community structure may be obscured by specific reactions in such species-rich, heterogeneous and complex tropical rain-forest communities.

Amazonian forests are being rapidly cleared, and the remaining forest fragments appear unusually vulnerable to fire. This occurs because forest remnants have dry, fire-prone edges, are juxtaposed with frequently burned pastures, and are often degraded by selective logging, which increases forest desiccation and fuel loading. Here we demonstrate that in eastern Amazonia, fires are operating as a large-scale edge effect in the sense that most fires originate outside fragments and penetrate considerable distances into forest interiors. Multi-temporal analyses of satellite imagery from two frontier areas reveal that fire frequency over 12-14-y periods was substantially elevated within at least 2400 m of forest margins. Application of these data with a mathematical core-area model suggests that even large forest remnants (up to several hundred thousand ha in area) could be vulnerable to edge-related fires. The synergistic interactions of forest fragmentation, logging and human-ignited fires pose critical threats to Amazonian forests, particularly in more seasonal areas of the basin.

The population dynamics of 8500 shade-tolerant tree seedlings of 13 tree species were followed for 10 years at rain forests in Lambir Hills National Park and Bako National Park, Malaysian Borneo. Since these dipterocarp forests have lower rates of canopy gap formation than do rain forests elsewhere, tree seedling biology was predicted to differ. Approximately 50% of seedlings present in 1986 were still alive in 1996. Seven out of thirteen had seedling populations composed predominantly of individuals that were at least 10 years old. These seedlings can undergo alternating periods of relatively rapid and slow growth. Many seedlings that grew rapidly in the first census interval survived through a period of suppression in the second census interval, and conversely many seedlings with a history of suppression had exceptionally high growth in the final census interval. Seedlings of South-East Asian forest tree species are long-lived and appear to be adapted to long periods of suppression in the understorey.

A plot of 1200 m2 was selected to represent the average epiphyte abundance of a moist subtropical broadleaved forest at Fushan in north-eastern Taiwan. In this plot, all epiphytes of 18 sample trees with dbh > 5 cm were removed and weighed to estimate their biomass and nutrient content. We found that the biomass of epiphytes and their associated detrital matter in this plot was 3360 kg ha-1. The nutrient capital of the epiphytes (kg ha-1) was: N = 42.4, P = 1.9, Mg = 5.5, Na = 1.3, Ca = 14.5 and K = 28.9. Although the epiphytic biomass constituted less than 2% of the total above-ground biomass of the forest, the epiphytes comprised about 21-43% of the total foliage nutrient capital of the ecosystem. Because nutrients contained in epiphytes and tree foliage are more readily available to other organisms than those in woody components, epiphytes may play a greater role in ecosystem nutrient cycling than their relatively small biomass would suggest.

Growth and survival of plants of eight species of epiphytic bromeliad were studied over a period of 5 y in a humid montane forest in eastern Mexico using repeated photographs of branches. Growth was calculated from annual size increment and used to predict the time taken to reach fertility. Most intermediate-sized plants grew at a rate of 2–3 cm y−1, with the exception of Tillandsia deppeana, which does not invest in offshoots and grew about twice as fast. Tillandsia deppeana and two Catopsis spp. were predicted to become fertile after 11 and 9 y, respectively, T. multicaulis and T. punctulata after 13 y and T. juncea after 18 y. Individuals growing closer to the tree top tended to grow slightly faster. Relative growth rate calculated as biomass increase of the leading shoot was highest in T. deppeana and lowest in T. juncea. These differences are related to the proportion of biomass invested in offshoots, which are most numerous in T. juncea and mostly absent in T. deppeana. Fast maturation is particularly important for species growing on small and exposed branches, which experience higher mortalities caused by the breakage of their supporting branches.

Distribution patterns of vascular plants with diameter at breast height (dbh) ≥ 2.5 cm were studied on the basis of compositional data from 30 small plots located in a rain-forest area in Colombian Amazonia. The research questions were: How are distribution patterns of species in relation to local abundance in plots? Do understorey species (defined as species with individuals that never attained dbh ≥ 10 cm anywhere) show better correlations with soils and environment than canopy species (defined as species with individuals that attained dbh ≥ 10 cm)? Are patterns found in the entire range of landscape units comparable to those found in well-drained uplands alone? Species that occurred in more than one plot showed higher local abundances. This pattern was consistent among environmental generalists and specialists. Locally rare species (with only one individual in a plot) occurred mostly in well-drained uplands. Considering all landscape units, Mantel tests showed substantial correlations between environmental data (soil chemical data, drainage and flooding) and species composition. Canopy species were only slightly less correlated with environmental data than understorey species. Elimination of the spatial component in the data did not reduce these correlations. In well-drained uplands, understorey species were better correlated with soils than canopy species. Here, however, the spatial configuration of the plots became more important in explaining species patterns.

We tested the hypothesis that tree species in a subtropical rain forest in south-east Queensland are ecologically equivalent and therefore have identical environmental requirements for their regeneration. We assessed the evidence that juveniles of species differed in their distributions in treefall gap microsites and along gradients of light availability, soil pH, soil PO4-P availability and soil NO3-N availability. Pairwise comparisons were made on a subset of the common species selected on the basis that they showed a relatively high level of positive association, and would therefore, a priori, be expected to have similar regeneration requirements. Detailed comparisons between the species failed to demonstrate evidence for species differentiation with respect to their tolerance of the disturbance associated with gap microsites or to the gradient of NO3-N availability. However, species differed markedly in their distributions along the soil pH gradient and along the gradients of light availability and soil PO4-P availability. The overall level of ecological differentiation between the species is high: seven out of the 10 possible species pairings showed evidence for ecological differentiation. Such niche differentiation amongst the juveniles of tree species may play an important role in maintaining the species richness of rain-forest communities.

The amount and annual net accumulation of above-ground dead woody material were quantified in a tropical deciduous forest in western Mexico. Three plots were located within a small watershed (16 ha) and distributed along a 150-m-elevation gradient (Upper, Middle and Lower plot). Total amount of above-ground dead phytomass (fine + coarse) was 27.2 Mg ha-1. Coarse dead category (branches + logs) made up 70.6% (19.2 Mg ha-1) of the total. The rest comprised the fine fraction, which was lying on the forest floor as surface litter. Of the total coarse dead woody mass, 70.8% was standing, hanging or still attached to live trees (13.6 Mg ha-1). Dead wood net accumulation was 6.6 Mg ha-1 y-1; 58% of this was coarse woody material and the rest comprised the fine litterfall fraction. The amount of standing, hanging/attached dead branches (2-20 cm circumference) varied significantly among plots, with the highest value in the Upper plot. Dead wood net accumulation was similar between the Upper and Middle plots, and significantly higher than the Lower plot. Compared to the intact canopy, the removal of dead mass (hanging/attached dead branches and standing dead logs) caused a significant decrease in throughfall nutrient concentration and nutrient flux by this pathway.

Geometrid moths were collected on Mt. Kinabalu (Sabah, Malaysia) along two habitat gradients, ranging from primary rain forest to cultivated areas. During 135 nights' trapping in 1997, 4585 individuals representing 500 species were attracted by light. Primary forest samples and those from old-grown regenerated forest exhibited high diversity (Fisher's α = 75–128), while agricultural areas as well as most secondary forests had a significantly lower diversity (α = 34–61). One 15-y-old secondary forest with a rich undergrowth vegetation also housed a diverse geometrid community (α = 89). In three paired samples, diversity of geometrid moths in the canopy was equal to or lower than in the understorey. Of six habitat variables tested, only undergrowth plant species diversity emerged as a significant predictor of geometrid diversity. The NESS index, in combination with multi-dimensional scaling, was used to investigate patterns of between-habitat diversity. Of two dimensions extracted, one represented the degree of habitat disturbance, while the other separated the two study areas. Geometrid samples of strongly disturbed habitats did not converge between sites, indicating that apart from the degree of human interference the regional species pool was also important in determining similarity among local communities.

On clearing fields, Ntumu farmers in southern Cameroon leave some large trees. The seed rain beneath 30 such remnant trees (12 species) was compared with that 10 m away from the edges of their crowns. Of a total of 39 765 seeds recorded in 90 seed traps over 2 y, 73.6% were of species different from the tree associated with each set of traps (‘foreign seed rain’). Seed rain included 100 morphospecies, two-thirds of which possessed endozoochorous seeds. Seeds of the pioneer tree Musanga cecropioides accounted for 71.4% of total foreign seed rain; seeds of this and other animal-dispersed species accounted for 94.5% of the total. Seed rain was 25 times higher beneath remnant trees than 10 m away. Mean species richness of monthly seed rain was three times higher beneath remnant trees than 10 m away. Both fleshy-fruited and wind-dispersed species of remnant trees attracted seed-dispersing animals which greatly enhanced the seed rain; attraction thus did not depend solely on presence of fleshy fruits. Seed rain was lower when human activity in fields was intense and increased during the period of growth of the last crops, which were not usually weeded. Heavy seed rain just before fallow may contribute significantly to regeneration, as does the presence of remnant trees.

The spatial organization of epiphytes has come under increasing attention. This kind of information is necessary for the general understanding of their ecology and for the design of sustainable harvesting methods. In this study, the small-scale (local) distribution of epiphytic bromeliads was studied using correlograms and permutational regression on distance matrices. Fieldwork was carried out in a young secondary forest stand in the central cordillera of Colombia at 3150 m asl. A complete census of the bromeliads in this plot was made, using a lattice with 400 quadrats. Six species of bromeliad were found (1008 individuals). All of these except one showed an aggregated spatial pattern. This pattern was independent of the position of the trees in the sampled plot. The distribution of the bromeliads was determined by the availability of substrate (branch surface area per quadrat), the proximity of conspecifics and the geomorphology of the terrain. The structure of the forest surrounding an epiphyte had an influence on the position of the epiphyte in the tree (height measured as distance from the canopy). The use of two-dimensional, lattice-based sampling strategies is discussed as a possible method for comprehensive surveys of epiphyte populations in natural forests.

Stand structure, species richness and population structures of tree species were characterized in 12 stands representing 50 y of succession following slash-and-burn agriculture in a tropical dry forest in lowland Bolivia. Estimates of tree species richness, canopy cover and basal area reached or surpassed 75% of mature forest levels in the 5-, 8-, and 23-y-old stands respectively. Total stem density of the 50-y-old stand was almost twice that of the mature forest stand. This rapid recovery may be due to a high percentage of sprouting tree species, potentially high seed fall into abandoned fields, or the disturbance history of the mature stand. The even-aged size-class structures, dominance of long-lived pioneers, and presence of charcoal and pottery shards in soils of the mature forest stand suggest it formed after a severe disturbance, possibly fire of anthropogenic origin.

Spatial vegetation utilization of elephants was investigated within mixed woodland savanna along the Chobe River in northern Botswana in the dry season of 1998. Using multiple linear regression, accumulated stem breakage by elephants was predicted by a terrain index, distance to water, stand density, number of trees > 4 m tall, tree height, density of Combretum apiculatum, C. elaeagnoides, C. mossambicense and the density of other (accumulated) tree species. Within mixed woodland at 2–7 km distance from the river fine-grained terrain ruggedness was the most important factor contributing to 55% of observed differences in use by elephants, while distance to water and the density of C. apiculatum contributed an additional 20% and 4%, respectively to the multiple linear regression model. Stem breakage was, on average, almost twice as high in rugged terrain compared with flat terrain at similar distance to water within the same vegetation type. Rugged terrain had 2–3-fold higher proportion of plots with very high Combretum shrub densities. These results suggest that the terrain index may be useful in management, predicting the areas most sensitive to vegetation change in a woodland system with increasing elephant densities.

A study of nutrient movement through rainfall, throughfall and stemflow, as well as epiphytic bryophyte (moss and liverwort) biomass and its effect on nutrient composition of stemflow, was conducted for 2 y in subtropical montane moist forest (Lithocarpus–Castanopsis association) at Xujiaba, Ailao Mountain National Nature Reserve, Yunnan, south-west China. Base cation and fluxes were increased in throughfall, while NH4+-N and NO3--N were reduced relative to precipitation. Annual throughfall inputs of N, P, Ca and S were mainly from precipitation, while most K and two-thirds of Mg throughfall input was due to canopy leaching. Input of Na in the precipitation and throughfall was low in this forest. Net flux (throughfall flux minus bulk precipitation) and deposition ratios (ratio of throughfall flux to bulk precipitation flux) were in the low part of the range reported for other tropical montane rain forests. The throughfall data for this forest reveal generally low cycling rates for mineral elements. Abundant epiphytic bryophytes on bole bark affected the chemical composition of stemflow by selective uptake or release of elements. Relative to trees without epiphytic bryophytes, the annual amounts of total N, NH4+-N, Mg, Na and SO42--S were enhanced, while NO3--N, K, P and Ca were depleted in stemflow. Contributions of N from nitrogen-fixing organisms are likely to be constrained by low temperatures.

Although forest tree pattern-dynamics has long been a focus for ecological theory, many aspects of basic analysis remain problematic. This paper describes, examines and illustrates an ‘extreme-value’ approach to clump detection. Simulations demonstrate that the approach, though simple, is sensitive and well suited to identifying aggregation, even in small data sets. The test is complementary to the χ2 approach and significantly outperforms it when high-density clusters form a relatively small fraction of the total area. This difference holds true as density declines, though the power of both tests decreases and the χ2 test eventually fails. Though powerful, the extreme-value tests are slightly conservative. The approach is adaptable to other null distributions and applications. An illustration uses tree data from a Ugandan forest plot with records from 1939 to 1992. One plausible explanation for observed stem increases in this plot is an unusually high incidence of large tree-fall events. Evidence for this is sought through spatial localization of various stem populations. Chi-square tests detect non-random density patterns in the populations that comprise ‘all stems > 10 cm diameter recorded in the 1992 survey’, and ‘all recruits in 1976’. In the extreme-value test three populations are found to be clumped, these are ‘pioneers > 10 cm diameter recorded in the 1992 survey’, ‘all recruits in 1992’ and again ‘all recruits in 1976’. These patterns, particularly the pioneer trees and stem recruitment, signal a ‘gap-dynamic process’ of tree regeneration. Despite this, the trends observed in the Ugandan plot appear unlikely to be caused by tree-falls alone. Various technical and ecological aspects of the extreme-value approach and tree spatial analyses are discussed.

Current research efforts to understand the relative invasibility of different plant communities have mostly ignored tropical forests. Only a few studies have treated invasive species in tropical forests, and recent worldwide analyses have not provided clear predictions concerning the relative invasibility of tropical forests. In this review, the extent to which exotic species have invaded tropical forests is summarized and four leading hypotheses to explain the apparently low frequency of invading plants in tropical forests are evaluated. In general, it is found that invasibility positively correlates with human disturbance, and that undisturbed tropical forests harbour few exotic species. To date, there is no evidence to attribute the low invasibility of undisturbed tropical forests to either their high species diversity or their high diversity of functional types. Instead, the low occurrence of exotic species in most tropical forests is most likely due to the fact that the great majority of exotic species that are transported to tropical countries lack specific life history traits, most importantly shade tolerance, necessary for successful invasion of undisturbed tropical forests. Unfortunately, this situation could change in the future with the expected increase in the plantation forestry of high-grade timber combined with common forestry practices that favour the cultivation of exotic species.

We examined the effects of the 1997–98 El Niño drought on nine rain forests of Mount Kinabalu, Borneo, at four altitudes (700, 1700, 2700 and 3100 m) on contrasting geological substrata (ultrabasic versus non-ultrabasic). Measurements of rainfall and atmospheric aridity indicated that the departure from normal conditions during the drought became greater with increasing altitude. During 1997–99 (drought period) compared to 1995–97 (pre-drought period), median growth rates of stem diameter of trees decreased for both smaller (4.8–10 cm) and larger (≥ 10 cm) diameter classes in the six upland forests (≥ 2700 m on ultrabasic substrata and ≥ 1700 m on non-ultrabasic substrata), but for neither diameter class in the other forests. The majority of species decreased or did not change growth rates during 1997–99, whereas some did increase. Tree mortality increased during 1997–99, at the larger diameter class in the two lowland forests (700 m) on both substrata, and at least at the smaller diameter class in the four upland forests (≥ 1700 m) on non-ultrabasic substrata. In two of these upland forests, mortality was restricted to particular understorey species. Mortality did not significantly increase in the three upland forests (≥ 1700 m) on ultrabasic substrata; this suggests that the adaptation to nutrient-poor soils might have provided the resistance to drought.