This paper presents a floristic survey of the wood component of cerrado s.s. (eastern face) and gallery forest (western face) areas carried out in the southern part of the Serra de Maracaju. The dispersal syndromes and floristic relations of this portion of the Serra were compared to those of other formations from different regions of Brazil. Between October 2007 and September 2008, monthly col...

Forest harvest alters natural nutrient cycles, which is reflected in stream water run-off from harvested catchments. Nitrate is an essential nutrient for plant growth, but increased concentrations in rivers, lakes, and oceans have contributed to eutrophication and anoxic conditions. Based on a literature review, we assessed the impact of three different harvest methods—clearcut, patchcut, and s...

It has been suggested that a latitudinal gradient exists of a low density of snags and high density of naturally-formed tree-cavities in tropical vs. temperate forests, though few cavities may have characteristics suitable for nesting by birds. We determined snag and cavity density, characteristics, and suitability for birds in a tropical dry forest biome of western Mexico, and evaluated whethe...

The objective of this study is to test the feasibility of nation-wide medium footprint airborne laser scanning (ALS) data for derivation of forest parameters. The comparison of canopy closure as one important parameter for many forest functions derived from ALS data and aerial photo interpretation was conducted. The present study was carried out in the framework of the Swiss National Forest Inv...

Forest ecosystems may provide strong sources of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is important for atmospheric chemical and radiative properties. Nonetheless, our understanding of controls on forest N2O emissions is insufficient to narrow current flux estimates, which still are associated with great uncertainties. In this study, we have investigated the quantitative and qualitative relationships betwe...

Two landuse grids were available for these catchments; one in 1995 was derived from satellite imagery and contained a relatively undifferentiated landuse classification (lumping all forest types into one category); the other in 2003 was derived from a mix of satellite imagery, ground truthing, and mapping, and better differentiated between landuse types (dividing forest types into evergreen, de...