LTREB: Rising Global Temperatures and Long-term Performance of Tropical Rain Forest Trees

University Of Missouri-Saint Louis, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Abstract

0129038 Clark LTREB This proposal will continue the TREES Project, an 18-year study designed to examine the ecological bases of life history diversity and population ecology in tropical forest trees. The core activity is an annual census of 2300 individuals of ten canopy and emergent tree species in a 250 ha area of old-growth tropical wet forest. Growth, mortality, physical damage, and microsite conditions of all trees have been measured annually since 1983. All trees are mapped and incorporated into the La Selva Geographic Information System, and their distribution and performance have been studies in relation to both soil nutrients and topography over a meso-scale landscape. Two compelling scientific issues will be addressed during the next five years. One question with major environmental, political and economic implications is whether tropical rain forests are experiencing a decline in forest productivity with global warming. The second issue is the original core driver of the project, to elucidate the diverse life history modes represented among tropical rain forest canopy trees. The core TREES data set is the largest and longest record available of concurrent annually-measured growth and microsite conditions for tropical rain forest trees. This project clearly links population ecology with global climate change, and has important implications for conservation and maintenance of biodiversity in tropical ecosystems.