OPUS: Tropical Forests Today: Reproduction and Conservation In the Face of Global Change

University Of Massachusetts Boston, Dorchester MA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will synthesize knowledge about the reproductive biology of tropical forest trees. The synthesis will incorporate recent ideas and data, update previous findings, and review the impact of contemporary global environmental changes such as land use change, the spread of invasive species, and climate change. This review will help define future trends in reproduction and regeneration in tropical forests, and assess the effects of these trends for sustaining tropical biodiversity. The results of this synthesis will be of interest to a wide range of biologists, and foster new research on reproduction and regeneration of plants in tropical forests. The work on the effects of global environmental change on the reproduction and population biology of forest trees, and the possibilities for mitigating these effects, will help conservation biologists, resource managers, and policy makers. It will offer opportunities for graduate students to participate in the synthesis of concepts and data, meta-analyses, and the linking of fundamental research with issues of human use of natural resources, land management, and conservation.