Though seasonally dry tropical forests are equally as important to global biodiversity as tropical rainforests, and are one of the most representative and highly endangered ecosystems in Latin America, knowledge about them remains limited because of the relative paucity of attention paid to them by scientists and researchers and a lack of published information on the subject.

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests seeks to address this shortcoming by bringing together a range of experts in diverse fields including biology, ecology, biogeography, and biogeochemistry, to review, synthesize, and explain the current state of our collective knowledge on the ecology and conservation of seasonally dry tropical forests.

The book offers a synthetic and cross-disciplinary review of recent work with an expansive scope, including sections on distribution, diversity, ecosystem function, and human impacts. Throughout, contributors emphasize conservation issues, particularly emerging threats and promising solutions, with key chapters on climate change, fragmentation, restoration, ecosystem services, and sustainable use.

Seasonally dry tropical forests are extremely rich in biodiversity, and are seriously threatened. They represent scientific terrain that is poorly explored, and there is an urgent need for increased understanding of the system's basic ecology. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests represents an important step in bringing together the most current scientific information about this vital ecosystem and disseminating it to the scientific and conservation communities.

Review Quotes

"Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests emphasizes the growing impact of human activities on ecological processes in these forests—a topic of critical importance given the high rate of conversion and fragmentation of tropical dry forests around the world."
Katherine Renton, Chamela Biological Station, National Autonomous University of Mexico

"Seasonally dry tropical forests, now the most severely threatened of the large tropical ecosystems, once covered more than half of the forested tropics. Just in time, this volume provides detailed, up-to-date information on how to restore these magnificent forests and the critical habitat they provide."
Daniel H. Janzen, Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund

"If you are interested in dry tropical forests, what they are like and what's happening to them, then this book is an excellent starting point."
Chartered Forester

"Given the state of the global environment and seasonally dry tropical forests in particular, any comprehensive book must consider the role of society as was so effectively done in this new volume...Taken as a whole, and given the strength of the fourth section 'Human Impacts and Conservation,' this book is a necessary addition for the library of scientists and conservation practitioners throughout the tropics."
Biotropica

"[Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests]...provides a much-needed overview of seasonally dry tropical forests in their respective regions. It is perhaps true that rain forests generally receive the lion's share of researcher and conservation attention, but SDTF are no less fascinating, and equally in need of conservation intervention."
Jaboury Ghazoul, The International Biogeography Society

"In sum, this book offers exceptional insight into the history, characteristics, current status, and future outlook of SDTFs [seasonally dry tropical forests]...This book is a significant contribution to the study of SDTFs and will provide a baseline reference for both new students and experienced researchers."
Quarterly Review of Biology

"Overall, this latest book on seasonally dry forests is likely to become a major source of reference in years to come. It certainly will occupy a prominent place in my bookshelf."
Ecology

Contents

Introduction \ Rodolfo Dirzo

PART I. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests as a Natural System
Chapter 1. Neotropical Seasonally Dry Forests: Diversity, Endemism and Biogeography of Woody Plants \ Reynaldo Linares-Palomino, Ary T. Oliveira Filho R.and Toby Pennington
Chapter 2. The Biogeography of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests in South America \ Sofia Caetano and Yamama Naciri
Chapter 3. Extent and Drivers of Change of Neotropical Seasonally Dry Forests \ G. Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa and Carlos Portillo-Quintero

PART II. Animal Biodiversity of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests
Chapter 4. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Soil Diversity and Functioning \ Diana H. Wall, Grizelle González and Breana L. Simmons
Chapter 5. Insect Diversity in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests \ Paul E. Hanson
Chapter 6. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Mammals: Adaptations and Seasonal Patterns \ Kathryn E. Stoner and Robert M. Timm

PART III. Ecosystem Processes in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests
Chapter 7. Primary Productivity and Biogeochemistry of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests \ Víctor J. Jaramillo, Angelina Martínez-Yrízar, and Robert L. Sanford Jr.
Chapter 8. Physiological Mechanisms Underlying the Seasonality of Leaf Senescence and Renewal in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests Trees \ Juan Pablo Giraldo and N. Michele Holbrook
Chapter 9. Water Dynamics at the Ecosystem Level in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests \ Manuel Maass and Ana Burgos

PART IV. Human Impacts and Conservation in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests
Chapter 10. Impact of Anthropogenic Transformation of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests on Ecosystem Biogeochemical Processes \ Felipe García-Oliva and Víctor J. Jaramillo
Chapter 11. Human Impacts on Pollination, Reproduction, and Breeding Systems in Tropical Forest Plants \ Mauricio Quesada, Fernando Rosas, Ramiro Aguilar, Lorena Ashworth, Victor M. Rosas-Guerrero, Roberto Sayago, Jorge A. Lobo, Yvonne Herrerías-Diego and Gumersindo Sanchez-Montoya
Chapter 12. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest Biodiversity and Conservation Value in Agricultural Landscapes of Mesoamerica \ Robin L. Chazdon, Celia A. Harvey, Miguel Martinez-Ramos, Patricia Balvanera, Kathryn E. Stoner, Jorge E. Schondube, Luis Daniel Avila Cabadilla, and Mónica Flores-Hidalgo
Chapter 13: Pasture Recolonization by a Tropical Oak and the Regeneration Ecology of Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests \ Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Jeffrey A. Klemens, Nicholas J. Deacon
Chapter 14: Economic Botany and Management Potential of Neotropical Seasonally Dry Forests \ Charles M. Peters
Chapter 15: Ecosystem Services in Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests \ Patricia Balvanera, Alicia Castillo and María José Martínez-Harms
Chapter 16: Climatic Change and Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests \ Patrick Meir and Toby Pennington
Chapter 17: Synthesis and Promising Lines of Research on Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests \ Harold A. Moone

Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests

Ecology and Conservation

Suggestions