The Ecology of Tropical East AsiaTropical East Asia is home to one billion people and faces massive human impact from its rising population and rapid economic growth. It has already lost more than two-thirds of its forest cover and has the highest rates of deforestation and logging in the tropics. The relentless trade in wildlife products threatens all its large and many smaller vertebrates. Despite these problems, the region still supports an estimated 15-25% of global terrestrial biodiversity and is therefore a key area for conservation. Effective and efficient conservation action at the local and regional levels depends on an understanding of the ecological patterns and processes in the region, but information is currently scattered among a large number of elusive publications in several different languages. The Ecology of Tropical East Asia is the first book to describe the terrestrial ecology of the entire East Asian tropics and subtropics, from southern China to western Indonesia. It deals with plants, animals, and the ecosystems they inhabit, as well as the diverse threats to their survival and the options for conservation. This book provides the background knowledge of the region's ecology needed by both specialists and non-specialists to put their own work into a broader context. The accessible style, comprehensive coverage, and engaging illustrations make this advanced textbook an essential read for senior undergraduate and graduate level students studying the terrestrial ecology of the East Asian tropics, as well as an authoritative reference for professional ecologists, conservationists, and interested amateurs worldwide. |
Contents
Environmental history | 1 |
Physical geography | 22 |
Biogeography | 57 |
Copyright | |
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agricultural animals anthropogenic Asian beetles biodiversity Biogeography Biological biomass birds Borneo canopy carbon dioxide carbon offsets China climate change conservation Corlett crops deciduous deforestation density diversity dominated Ecology ecosystem emissions endemic environmental evergreen evidence extinction fauna fires flowers fragments frugivorous fruit global growth habitat herbivores Hong Kong human impacts hunting increase Indonesia insects invasive invertebrates islands IUCN IUCN Red List Journal of Tropical km² land landscapes Laurance less logging lowland rainforest macaques major Malaysia mammals montane Mount Kinabalu Myanmar native natural nutrients Pasoh phenology Philippines Photograph courtesy plant species plantations pollination populations potential predators production protected areas rainfall reduce region relatively result seasonal seed dispersal seed predation seedlings soil South-East Asia studies subtropical suggest Sulawesi Sumatra Sunda Shelf Sundaland survival taxa temperature Thailand tion trade tree species Tropical East Asia Tropical Ecology tropical forests urban vegetation vertebrates wild wildlife