Whole-ecosystem experimental manipulations of tropical forests

Author

Tom, M. Fayle and Edgar C. Turner, and Yves Basset, and Robert M. Ewers, and Glen Reynolds, and Vojtech Novotny, (2015) Whole-ecosystem experimental manipulations of tropical forests. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 30 (6). pp. 334-346. ISSN 0169-5347

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.03.010

Abstract

Tropical forests are highly diverse systems involving extraordinary numbers of interactions between species, with each species responding in a different way to the abiotic environment. Understanding how these systems function and predicting how they respond to anthropogenic global change is extremely challenging. We argue for the necessity of ‘whole-ecosystem’ experimental manipulations, in which the entire ecosystem is targeted, either to reveal the functioning of the system in its natural state or to understand responses to anthropogenic impacts. We survey the current range of whole-ecosystem manipulations, which include those targeting weather and climate, nutrients, biotic interactions, human impacts, and habitat restoration. Finally we describe the unique challenges and opportunities presented by such projects and suggest directions for future experiments.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	climate change; forest fragmentation; forest restoration; logging; nutrients; species interactions
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Divisions:	SCHOOL > Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation
ID Code:	14850
Deposited By:	IR Admin
Deposited On:	02 Nov 2016 09:55
Last Modified:	02 Nov 2016 09:55

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http://eprints.ums.edu.my/14850/