Today, mid- and high-elevation belts in the American Tropics still support montane evergreen broad-leaved oak (Quercus) forests.They range from r- atively dry woodlands to extremely wet cloud forests,and may occur either as pure monotypic stands sometimes with giant oaks up to 60 m tall or as mixed-species systems in which oak co-occurs with other predominant g- era such as pine (Pinus) and sweetgum (Liquidambar). They are found throughout southern Mexico, Central America and the Colombian Andes,and form a major component of the American Tropics ecoregions, biodiversity hotspots,and centers of plant diversity. Their biological richness, expressed in the large variety of trees, shrubs, epiphytic orchids and bromeliads, ferns, bryophytes, lichens and fungi, is indeed striking. Even animal life is astonishing: the avifauna is among the greatest worldwide,with the mythical Resplendent Quetzal as its most beau- ful representative. Large mammals such as jaguar, puma, tapir, peccary and deer still roam around in considerable quantities.In terms of biogeochemical cycling,most of these forests,and especially the oak cloud forests filter large air masses.They capture and incorporate water and nutrients from mist and fog into their cycles,providing nascent rivers with clear fresh water. Originally, these montane oak forests were widely distributed. However, since the early 1800s,large oak forest areas in the highland Neotropics have made way for coffee plantations and pastures. Today,only few intact blocks remain while most forests are fragmented,suffering from severe disturbance.

Advances scientific knowledge needed for conservation, restoration and sustainable use of the rich oak forests still present in the highland tropics of the New World. Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Zusammenfassung

From the reviews:

"This volume is a highly valuable, almost complete contribution to the study of these widespread oak mountain ecosystems. ... The present volume synthesises an impressive amount of data and information in many ways. It provides a very sound basis for future research ... . In general, it is a remarkable volume of the 'Ecological Studies' series, which would deserve a wider distribution." (Siegmar-W. Breckle, Phytocoenologia, Vol. 37 (2), 2007)

"This book summarizes current knowledge about neotropical montane oak ecosystems. ... This book will be great value to managers, researchers, teachers, and students who work in the Americas neotropical montane region. It also will be valuable to ecologists, forest managers, and researchers throughout the world ... ." (Brain Roy Lockhart, Mountain Research & Development, Vol. 27 (3), 2007)

Inhalt
to Neotropical Montane Oak Forests.- Global and Neotropical Distribution and Diversity of Oak (genus Quercus) and Oak Forests.- Paleo-Ecology and Biogeography.- Immigration of Oak into Northern South America: a Paleo-Ecological Document.- Effects of the Younger Dryas Cooling Event on Late Quaternary Montane Oak Forest in Costa Rica.- Altitudinal Zonation of Montane Oak Forests Along Climate and Soil Gradients in Costa Rica.- Saprotrophic and Ectomycorrhizal Macrofungi of Costa Rican Oak Forests.- Diversity and Biogeography of Lichens in Neotropical Montane Oak Forests.- Epiphytic Communities of Bryophytes and Macrolichens in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest.- Stand Structure and Composition.- Composition and Structure of Humid Montane Oak Forests at Different Sites in Central and Eastern Mexico.- Oak Forests of the Hyper-Humid Region of La Chinantla, Northern Oaxaca Range, Mexico.- Structure and Composition of Costa Rican Montane Oak Forests.- Structure and Composition of Colombian Montane Oak Forests.- Population Dynamics.- Regeneration and Population Dynamics of Quercus rugosa at the Ajusco Volcano, Mexico.- Ecology of Acorn Dispersal by Small Mammals in Montane Forests of Chiapas, Mexico.- Establishment, Survival and Growth of Tree Seedlings Under Successional Montane Oak Forests in Chiapas, Mexico.- Population Structures of Two Understory Plant Species Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Costa Rican Montane Oak Forests.- Ecosystem Disturbance and Regeneration.- Secondary Succession in Montane Pine-Oak Forests of Chiapas, Mexico.- Changes in Diversity and Structure Along a Successional Gradient in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest.- Regeneration Dynamics in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest After Reduced-Impact Logging.- Growth and Physiological Responses of Oak, Pine andShrub Seedlings to Edge Gradients in a Fragmented Mexican Montane Oak Forest.- Morphological Variations of Gall-Forming Insects on Different Species of Oaks (Quercus) in Mexico.- Above-Ground Water and Nutrient Fluxes in Three Successional Stages of Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest with Contrasting Epiphyte Abundance.- Changes in Fine Root System Size and Structure During Secondary Succession in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest.- Soil Seed Bank Changes Along a Forest Interior-Edge-Pasture Gradient in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest.- Frugivorous Birds, Habitat Preference and Seed Dispersal in a Fragmented Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest Landscape.- Diet and Habitat Preference of the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno costaricensis) in Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest.- Small Terrestrial Rodents in Disturbed and Old-Growth Montane Oak Forest in Costa Rica.- Habitat Preference, Feeding Habits and Conservation of Baird's Tapir in Neotropical Montane Oak Forests.- Conservation and Sustainable Use.- Dynamics and Silviculture of Montane Mixed Oak Forests in Western Mexico.- Vascular Epiphytes and Their Potential as a Conservation Tool in Pine-Oak Forests of Chiapas, Mexico.- Land Use, Ethnobotany and Conservation in Costa Rican Montane Oak Forests.- Charcoal Production in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest.- Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Central American Montane Oak Forests.- Economic Valuation of Water Supply as a Key Environmental Service Provided by Montane Oak Forest Watershed Areas in Costa Rica.- Synthesis.- Neotropical Montane Oak Forests: Overview and Outlook.