Forest structure, function, and dynamics in western Amazonia / edited by Randall W. Myster.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Myster, Randall W. (Randall Walton), 1955- editor.

Series:

THEi Wiley ebooks.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Rain forests--Amazon River Region.

Rain forests.

Rain forest ecology--Amazon River Region.

Rain forest ecology.

Biodiversity--Amazon River Region.

Biodiversity.

Geography--Amazon River Region.

Geography.

Plants--Amazon River Region.

Plants.

Amazon River Region.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (225 pages) : illustrations, photographs

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chichester, [England] : Wiley-Blackwell, 2017.

System Details:

Access using campus network via VPN at home (THEi Users Only).

Summary:

The Amazon Basin contains the largest and most diverse tropical rainforest in the world. Besides the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, the rainforest is bounded to the north by the Guiana crystalline shield and to the south by the Brazilian crystalline shield, marked at their edges by cataracts in the rivers and often dominated by grasslands. This book is motivated not just by the Amazon's scientific interest but also by its role in many ecosystem functions critical to life on Earth. These ecosystems are characterized both by their complexity and their interactive, higher-order linkages among both abiotic and biotic components. Within Amazonia, the Western Amazon (west of 65° latitude) is the most pristine and, perhaps, the most complex within the Amazon Basin. This Western Amazon may be broadly divided into non-flooded forests (e.g. terra firme, white sand, palm) and forests flooded with white water (generally referred to as várzea) and with black water (generally referred to as igapó). Here, for the first time, is a book devoted entirely to Western Amazonia, containing chapters by scientists at the forefront of their own areas of expertise. It should be a valuable resource for all future researchers and scholars who venture into Western Amazonia, as it continues to be one of the most beautiful, mysterious, remote and important ecosystems on Earth.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

List of Contributors

Prologue

Chapter 1 Introduction

1.1 The Amazon

1.2 The Western Amazon

1.2.1 Case study: Sabalillo Forest Reserve

1.2.2 Case study: Area de Conservacion Regional Comunal de Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo

1.2.3 Case study: Centro de Investigacion de Jenaro Herrera

1.2.4 Case study: Yasuní experimental station

1.3 About this book

Acknowledgements

References

Chapter 2 A Floristic Assessment of Ecuador's Amazon Tree Flora

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Methods

2.3 Study area

2.3.1 Yasuní

2.3.2 Cuyabeno

2.4 Herbarium collections

2.5 Floristic inventories

2.6 Data analysis

2.6.1 Estimation of observed and expected tree species richness

2.7 Results

2.7.1 Observed patterns of tree species richness

2.7.2 Estimated number of tree species in Ecuadorian Amazonia

2.7.3 Floristic relationships and discontinuities at local and regional scales

2.8 Aguarico-Putumayo watershed

2.9 Napo-Curaray basin

2.10 Pastaza basin region

2.11 Cordillera del Cóndor lowlands

2.12 What factors drive gradients in alpha and beta diversity in Ecuador Amazon forests?

2.12.1 Climate and latitudinal and longitudinal gradients

2.13 The role of geomorphology and soils on the patterns of floristic change in Ecuadorian Amazonia

2.14 Potential evolutionary processes determining differences in tree alpha and beta diversity in Ecuadorian Amazonia

2.15 Future directions

Chapter 3 Geographical Context of Western Amazonian Forest Use

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Conditions set by the physical geography

3.3 Pre-Colonial human development

3.4 Colonial era

3.5 Liberation and forming of nations

3.6 World market integration and changing political regimes

3.7 Characteristics of the present forest use.

3.8 Present population and regional integration

Chapter 4 Forest Structure, Fruit Production and Frugivore Communities in Terra firme and Várzea Forests of the Médio Juruá

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Methods

4.3 Results and discussion

4.4 Conclusion

Chapter 5 Palm Diversity and Abundance in the Colombian Amazon

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Study area

5.3 Methods

5.4 Results

5.4.1 Palms in terra firme forests (Figure 5.2)

5.4.2 Palms in floodplain and terrace forests (Figure 5.6)

5.5 Discussion

Chapter 6 Why Rivers Make the Difference: A Review on the Phytogeography of Forested Floodplains in the Amazon Basin

6.1 Introduction

6.2 The geological history of flood-pulsing wetlands in the Amazon Basin

6.2.1 Through the Paleogene

6.2.2 The Miocene

6.2.3 The Quaternary

6.3 Floodplain environments: why rivers make the difference

6.3.1 Trees and flooding

6.3.2 Trees and dispersal in semi-aquatic habitats

6.3.3 Trees and alluvial soils

6.3.4 Trees, hydro-geomorphic disturbance and light regimes

6.3.5 Trees and wetland microclimates

6.4 Conclusions

Chapter 7 A Diversity of Biogeographies in an Extreme Amazonian Wetland Habitat

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Methods

7.2.1 Habitat description

7.2.2 Vegetation sampling

7.3 Construction of a biogeographic framework

7.4 Results

7.5 Discussion

7.5.1 Insights into local assemblies

7.5.2 Insights into biogeographic processes

7.5.3 Limits of the data

Chapter 8 Forest Composition and Spatial Patterns across a Western Amazonian River Basin: The Influence of Plant-Animal Interactions

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Methods

8.2.1 Site description and history

8.2.2 Study design

8.3 Analysis

8.3.1 Compositional patterns.

8.3.2 Spatial patterns

8.4 Results

8.4.1 Compositional patterns

8.4.2 Spatial patterns

8.4.3 Inter-cohort spatial patterns

8.5 Discussion

Chapter 9 Bird Assemblages in the Terra Firme Forest at Yasun[[\'i]] National Park

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Methods

9.3 Results and discussion

Chapter 10 Conclusions, Synthesis and Future Directions

10.1 Conclusions

10.2 Synthesis

10.3 Future directions

Index

EULA.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781119090694

1119090695

9781119090687

1119090687

9781119090670

1119090679

OCLC:

967512574