Big-Leaf Mahogany is the most important commercial timber species of the tropics. Current debate concerning whether to protect it as an endangered species has been hampered by the lack of complete, definitive scientific documentation. This book reports on vital research on the ecology of big-leaf mahogany, including genetic variations, regeneration, natural distribution patterns and the silvicutural and trade implications for the tree.

Inhalt
Mahogany: Tree of the Future.- Mahogany: Tree of the Future.- The Tree and Its Genetics.- Genetic Variation in Natural Mahogany Populations in Bolivia.- Twenty Mahogany Provenances Under Different Conditions in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.- Hurricane Damage to Mahogany Crowns Associated with Seed Source.- A New Mesoamerican Collection of Big-Leaf Mahogany.- Ecophysiology and Regeneration.- Photosynthetic Response of Hybrid Mahogany Grown Under Contrasting Light Regimes.- Comparative Analysis of the Nutritional Status of Mahogany Plantations in Puerto Rico.- Growth-, Water-, and Nutrient-Related Plasticity in Hybrid Mahogany Leaf Development Under Contrasting Light Regimes.- Regeneration, Growth, and Sustainability of Mahogany in México's Yucatán Forests.- Regeneration of Big-Leaf Mahogany in Closed and Logged Forests of Southeastern Pará, Brazil.- Effects of Large-Scale Flooding on Regeneration of Big-Leaf Mahogany in the Bolivian Amazon.- Regeneration After Hurricane Disturbance of Big-Leaf and Hybrid Mahogany Plantations in Puerto Rico.- Silviculture.- Silvicultural Systems for Big-Leaf Mahogany Plantations.- Enrichment Planting of Big-Leaf Mahogany and Spanish Cedar in Quintana Roo, México.- Structure and Dynamics of Mahogany Plantations in Puerto Rico.- Mahogany Planting and Research in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.- Fifty-Nine-Year Performance of Planted Big-Leaf Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King) in Puerto Rico.- Wood Densities of Mahoganies in Puerto Rican Plantations.- Evaluation of Four Taungya Permanent Big-Leaf Mahogany Plots, Aged 36 to 38 Years, in Belize.- Growth of Small-Leaf Mahogany Crop Trees in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.- Shoot Borer.- Taxonomy, Ecology, and Control of Hypsipyla Shoot Borers of Meliaceae.-Resistance to the Shoot Borer in Mahoganies.- Epilogue.- Recent Literature on Big-Leaf Mahogany.