Tropical Rain Forest Ecology, Diversity and Conservation. 2010. b/w illus. XVI, 516 p. gr8vo. Paper bd.

Rain forests represent the world's richest repository of terrestrial biodiversity, and play a major role in regulating the global climate. They support the livelihoods of a substantial proportion of the world's population and are the source of many internationally traded commodities. They remain (despite decades of conservation attention) increasingly vulnerable to degradation and clearance, with profound though often uncertain future costs to global society. Understanding the ecology of these diverse biomes, and peoples' dependencies on them, is fundamental to their future management and conservation. This text introduces and explores what rain forests are, how they arose, what they contain, how they function, and how humans use and impact them. It explores biodiversity conservation as well as livelihood security for the many communities that are dependent on rain forests.