Amazon ecology: Footprints in the forest

The changing Amazon forest

Long-term monitoring of distributed, multiple plots is the key to quantify macroecological patterns and changes. Here we examine the evidence for concerted changes in the structure, dynamics and composition of old-growth Amazonian forests in the late twentieth century. In the 1980s and 1990s, mature forests gained biomass and underwent accelerated growth and dynamics, all consistent with a wide...

The Amazon flood plain forest tree Maquira coriacea (Karsten) C.C. Berg: aspects of ecology and management

Maquira coriacea is a commercial tree species growing throughout the Amazon flood plain forests. Densities up to 14/ha of individuals, >10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) were observed, corresponding to a basal area of 2 m/ha and a volume of 38 m/ha. The primary period of fruiting coincided with the annual flooding, but fruits were also produced in other parts of the year. Seedlings with den...

Deforestation and Forest Fragmentation in the Amazon

Forest Ecology

Fire is a potentially powerful tool for achieving desired conditions of forest ecosystems. From an ecological perspective, the use of fire requires affirmative answers to either of the following questions: (1) Does it increase ecosystem health and sustainability? and (2) Does it preserve or restore unique species or habitats? Health and sustainability can be measured and defined in terms of: (1...

Climate drivers of the Amazon forest greening

Our limited understanding of the climate controls on tropical forest seasonality is one of the biggest sources of uncertainty in modeling climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems. Combining leaf production, litterfall and climate observations from satellite and ground data in the Amazon forest, we show that seasonal variation in leaf production is largely triggered by climate signals, s...