This paper is a floristic and phytosociological study of the dry forest communities of the Dominican Republic. A total of 69 relevés in dry forest biotopes were carried out. The samples were subsequently subjected to Detrended Correspondence Analysis for the determination and study of possible groupings. The study does not cover tree formations growing on serpentines, nor the so-called semideci...

Global plant trait studies have revealed fundamental trade-offs in plant resource economics. We evaluated such trait trade-offs during secondary succession in two species-rich tropical ecosystems that contrast in precipitation: dry deciduous and wet evergreen forests of Mexico. Species turnover with succession in dry forest largely relates to increasing water availability and in wet forest to d...

Temperate and dry deciduous forest covers major portion of terrestrial ecosystem in India. The two forest types with different dominant tree species differ in litter quality and root exudates, thereby exerting species-specific impact on soil properties and microbial activity. This study aims to examine the influence of forest type or dominant tree species on soil physico-chemical properties and...

Community structure and species’ abundances may be strongly correlated to patterns of forest cover, although such patterns are poorly known for tropical dry-forest birds, especially for those in Panamanian dry forests. Birds were distance-sampled during point counts in five dry-forest fragments in Panama. Distance from point count to forest edge and forest coverage at three spatial scales (500,...

The dry forests of northeastern Brazil are found near the coastal zone and on low, isolated mountains inland amid semi-arid vegetation. The floristic composition of these dry montane forests, as well as their relationship to humid forests (Atlantic forest sensu stricto) and to the deciduous thorn woodlands (Caatinga sensu stricto) of the Brazilian northeast are not yet well known. This paper so...

A simple dynamic model relating forest area in a region, its contribution to dry season precipitation and the effect on its own establishment was developed. The model equation shows hysteresis between forest and savannas as a function of imported dry season precipitation. Regions are either dominated by forests or savannas, with each ecosystem showing stability despite changes in imported dry s...

A floristic and ecological study of bryophytes and macrolichens in different lowland rain forest types around Mabura Hill, Guyana, South America, yielded 170 species: 52 mosses, 82 liverworts and 36 macrolichens. Lejeuneaceae account for about 30% of the species and are the dominant cryptogamic family of the lowland rain forest. Special attention was paid to the flora of the forest canopy, by u...

Understanding the factors shaping species distribution patterns along tropical rainfall gradients is necessary to predict the consequences of climate change for tropical tree communities. Direct effects of water availability exclude wet forest species from dry forests, but the exclusion of dry forest species from wet forests remains unexplained. We tested the hypothesis that high light and nutr...

I The Amazon rain forest is a region of the earth that is undergoing rapid change. Man-made disturbance, such as clear cutting for agriculture or mining, is altering the rain forest ecosystem. For many parts of the rain forest, seasonal changes from the wet to the dry season are also significant. Changes in the seasonal cycle of floocfing and draining can cause significant alterations in the fo...