Climate change represents one of the most alarming long-term threats to ecosystems the world over. This new collection of papers provides, for the first time, an overview of the potentially serious impact that climate change may have on tropical forests. The authors, a multi-disciplinary group of leading experts in climatology, forestry, ecology and conservation biology, present a state-of-knowledge snapshot of how tropical forests are likely to react to the changes being wrought on our planet's atmosphere and climate.
Tropical forests represent extraordinary harbours for biological diversity, and yet as deforestation and degradation continue apace, they are under greater pressure from human impacts than ever before. Climate change adds yet another threat to these valuable ecosystems, and this volume demonstrates just how significant a problem this may really be. The authors identify certain types of forest, including tropical montane cloud forest that may be particularly vulnerable. They also show the strong likelihood of global warming aggravating problems in already fragmented forest areas.

Zusammenfassung
The authors, a multi-disciplinary group of leading experts in climatology, forestry, ecology and conservation biology, present a state-of-knowledge snapshot of how tropical forests are likely to react to the changes being wrought on our planet's atmosphere and climate.

Inhalt
Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Tropical Forest Ecosystems; A. Markham. A Climate Change Scenario for the Tropics; M. Hulme, D. Viner. Tropical Forests under the Climates of the Last 30,000 Years; J.R. Flenley. Potential Changes in Tropical Storms, Hurricanes, and Extreme Rainfall Events as a Result of Climate Change; K. Walsh, A.B. Pittock. Possible Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Tropical Forest Hydrology; M. Bonell. Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Fire Regimes in the Tropics Based on MAGICC and a GISS GCM-Derived Lightning Model; J.G. Goldammer, C. Price. Tropical Forests in a CO2-Rich World; C. Körner. Tropical Forests in a Future Climate: Changes in Biological Diversity and Impact on the Global Carbon Cycle; F.A. Bazzaz. The Potential Effects of Elevated CO2 and Climate Change on Tropical Forest Soils and Biogeochemical Cycling; W.L. Silver. Relating Tree Physiology to Past and Future Changes in Tropical Rainforest Tree Communities; T.A. Kursar. Responses of Tropical Trees to Rainfall Seasonality and Its Long-Term Changes; R. Borchert. Deep Soil Moisture Storage and Transpiration in Forests and Pastures of Seasonally-Dry Amazonia; P.H. Jipp, et al. Ecological Implications of Changes in Drought Patterns: Shifts in Forest Composition in Panama; R. Condit. Potential Impact of Climatic Change on Tropical Rain Forest Seedlings and Forest Regeneration; T.C. Whitmore. Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Tropical Asian Forests Through an Influence on Phenology; R.T. Corlett, J.V. Lafrankie, Jr. Possible Effects of Climate Change on Plant/Herbivore Interactions in Moist Tropical Forests; P.D. Coley. Global Climate Change and Tropical Forest Genetic Resources; K.S. Bawa, S.Dayanandan. A Model of Conductive Heat Flowin Forest Edges and Fragmented Landscapes; J.R. Malcolm. Vulnerability of Island Tropical Montane Cloud Forests to Climate Change, with Special Reference to East Maui, Hawaii; L.L. Loope, T.W. Giambelluca. Vulnerabilities of Tropical Forests to Climate Change: The Significance of Resident Epiphytes; D.H. Benzing. Potential Effects of Climate Change on Two Neutropical Amphibian Assemblages; M.A. Donnelly, M.L. Crump. Climate Change and Tropical Forests in India; N.H. Ravindranath, R. Sukumar. Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Tropical Rain Forest Landscape; P.S. Ramakrishnan. Drought in the Rain Forest, Part II. An Update Based on the 1994 ENSO Event; N. Salafsky.