Lessons from Amazonia: The Ecology and Conservation of a Fragmented Forest [Hardcover]

Richard Bierregaard Jr. (Editor), Mr. Claude Gascon (Editor), Thomas E. Lovejoy (Editor), Ms. Rita Mesquita (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2001

Deforestation is occurring at an alarming rate in many parts of the world, causing destruction of natural habitat and fragmentation of what remains. Nowhere is this problem more pressing than in the Amazon rainforest, which is rapidly vanishing in the face of enormous pressure from humans to exploit it. This book presents the results of the longest-running and most comprehensive study of forest fragmentation ever undertaken, the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project (BDFFP) in central Amazonia, the only experimental study of tropical forest fragmentation in which baseline data are available before isolation from continuous forest took place. A joint project of Brazil's National Institute for Research in Amazonia and the U.S. Smithsonian Institution, the BDFFP has investigated the many effects that habitat fragmentation has on plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The book provides an overview of the BDFFP, reports on its case studies, looks at forest ecology and tree genetics, and considers what issues are involved in establishing conservation and management guidelines.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"This update of the mighty Forest Fragments Project reveals the dimensions of complexity in the rain forest ecosystem and suggests the best ways to address them in scientific research and for conservation practice."—Edward O. Wilson, from the foreword

About the Author

Richard O. Bierregaard, Jr., is assistant professor (adjunct) in biology at University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Claude Gascon is vice president for field support at Conservation International, Washington. D.C. Thomas E. Lovejoy is chief biodiversity adviser and lead specialist for Latin America and the Caribbean, the World Bank. Rita Mesquita is in the ecology department at the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia, Brazil.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300084838
• ISBN-13: 978-0300084832
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,458,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Science & Math > Nature & Ecology > Ecosystems > Tropical