Tropical Forests : New Edition

Abstract

Tropical forests occupy only one-tenth of the world's land area but are home to more than half of the world's flora and fauna. They comprise extremely complex labyrinth of ecological interactions. The astounding richness and biodiversity of tropical forests are rapidly dwindling. There is a fear that the burgeoning human population and industrialization, where a majority of these tropical forests are found, may lead to the clearing or modification or may be a complete disappearance of the remaining tropical forests within few decades. This has severely altered the vital biogeochemical cycles of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and so on and has led to the change in global climate and pristine natural ecosystems. Hence, there is an urgent need to protect, restore, conserve, and improve the forest resources before they are irrevocably lost. In this second edition of the book Tropical Forests, the chapters share the above issues and help in understanding, educating, and creating awareness on the role of "tropical forests" for the very survival of mankind, climate change, and the diversity of biota across the globe. This book will be of great use and could be useful to students, scientists, ecologists, population and conservation biologists, and forest managers across the globe.