Forests and Global Change

This book synthesises recent research across temperate and tropical forest ecosystems, to present the numerous ways forests are responding to global change.

David A. Coomes (Edited by), David F. R. P. Burslem (Edited by), William D. Simonson (Edited by)

9781107041851, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 20 February 2014

492 pages, 82 b/w illus. 12 colour illus. 26 tables
24.4 x 17 x 2.7 cm, 1.13 kg

'This is an important book for ecologists and anyone who is interested in or teaching about the effects of climate change. Some good suggestions for further research are made and there is a useful index of the many topics addressed.' Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, The Biologist

Forests hold a significant proportion of global biodiversity and terrestrial carbon stocks and are at the forefront of human-induced global change. The dynamics and distribution of forest vegetation determines the habitat for other organisms, and regulates the delivery of ecosystem services, including carbon storage. Presenting recent research across temperate and tropical ecosystems, this volume synthesises the numerous ways that forests are responding to global change and includes perspectives on: the role of forests in the global carbon and energy budgets; historical patterns of forest change and diversification; contemporary mechanisms of community assembly and implications of underlying drivers of global change; and the ways in which forests supply ecosystem services that support human lives. The chapters represent case studies drawn from the authors' expertise, highlighting exciting new research and providing information that will be valuable to academics, students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in this field.

Preface
1. Forests and global change: an overview William D. Simonson, David A. Coomes and David F. R. P. Burslem
Part I. Forest Dynamics and Global Change: 2. Forests and the climate system John Grace
3. Global change and Mediterranean forests: current impacts and potential responses Fernando Valladares, Raquel Benavides, Sonia G. Rabasa, Juli G. Pausas, Susana Paula, William D. Simonson and Mario Díaz
4. Recent changes in tropical forest biomass and dynamics Oliver L. Phillips and Simon L. Lewis
5. Disequilibrium and transient dynamics: disentangling responses to climate change versus broader anthropogenic impacts on temperate forests of eastern North America Charles D. Canham
Part II. Species Traits and Responses to Changing Resource Availability: 6. Floristic shifts versus critical transitions in Amazonian forest systems Jérôme Chave
7. Traits, states and rates: understanding coexistence in forests Drew W. Purves and Mark C. Vanderwel
8. The functional role of biodiversity in the context of global change Michael Scherer-Lorenzen
9. Exploring evolutionarily meaningful vegetation definitions in the tropics: a community phylogenetic approach Ary T. Oliveira-Filho, R. Toby Pennington, Jay Rotella and Matt Lavin
10. Drought as a driver of tropical tree species regeneration dynamics and distribution patterns Liza S. Comita and Bettina M. J. Engelbrecht
11. Tree performance across gradients of soil resource availability Richard K. Kobe, Thomas W. Baribault and Ellen K. Holste
Part III. Detecting and Modelling Global Change: 12. A chemical-evolutionary basis for remote sensing of tropical forest diversity Gregory P. Asner
13. Forests in a greenhouse atmosphere: predicting the unpredictable? Harald Bugmann
14. Detecting and projecting changes in forest biomass from plot data Helene C. Muller-Landau, Matteo Detto, Ryan A. Chisholm, Stephen P. Hubbell and Richard Condit
15. Analysis of anthropogenic impacts on forest diversity as a contribution to empirical theory Adrian C. Newton and Christian Echeverría
Index.

Subject Areas: Conservation of the environment [RNK], Applied ecology [RNC], The environment [RN], Forests, rainforests [RGBL], Geography [RG]