Rainforests at the Beginning of the 21st Century

Abstract

Abstract.Rainforests are situated at low latitude where forests enjoy steady and strong radiation. Biodiversity in rainforests has been very high, for historical and climatic reasons. The number of species is very high and tends to increase with precipitation and decrease with seasonality. Disturbance, soil fertility and forest stature also influence the species richness and high turnover of species contribute to diversity. Field observation and studies revealed that large scale deforestation could alter the regional and global climate significantly. Deforestation alters the surface albedo which leads to climate change. Regional land use contributes to climate change through surface-energy budget, as well as the carbon cycle. Forest fragmentation, logging, overhunting, fire and the expanding agriculture threaten the biodiversity. Rainforest covered area has significantly shrunk in the last decades. It is hard to protect the forests because of the growing demand for agricultural area and forest-derived products. Most measures proved ineffective to slow down the destruction. Hence, more forest will be lost in the future. Conservationists should take into consideration the secondary forests because biodiversity can be high enough and it is worth protecting them.

Kekayaan Jenis Pohon Di Hutan Taman Nasional Gunung Gede Pangrango, Jawa Barat

“…Hutan hujan tropis merupakan hutan yang paling tinggi dalam hal keragaman jenis pohonnya (Genty, 1988;Givnish, 1999;Mics et al, 2013). Pohon tersebut merupakan salah satu komponen utama penyusun ekosistem hutan baik dalam hal struktur maupun fungsi hutan.…”

Introductory Chapter: Vegetation Dynamics, Basic Phenomena, and Processes

“…This is often done deliberately as part of a rotation system in order to regenerate soil nutrients [76] or in response to socioeconomic impacts, which alter profitability, access to labor, capital, and markets [77]. Secondary forests appear in the place of previously deforested forests, and their area increased in Brazil from 10 to 17 million hectares between 2004 and 2014, which is very important from the viewpoint of the situation of rainforests in the twenty-first century [78,79]. Today, there are several programs to restore the original natural vegetation.…”