No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Aberdeen University, 1988. / Title from web page (viewed on Mar. 4, 2010). Includes bibliographical references.

Tree population dynamics were monitored in three tropical rain forest sites in Peninsular Malaysia. The studies involved trees ≥ 10 cm dbh, over 36 years in hill dipterocarp forest at Bukit Lagong, and over 38 and 13 years in lowland dipterocarp forests at Sungei Menyala and Pasoh respectively. Trees were periodically measured for dbh, and mortality and recruitment recorded. Sapling populations at Sungei Menyala were also enumerated at periods separated by about 30 years. The major findings were: decline in tree density over the periods of study were offset by incremental growth in surviving trees, showing that the forests are fully stocked and structurally stable; mortality rates and 'half-life' values were 2.03%, 2.07% and 1.39% yr^-1, and 34.2, 33.5 and 49.9 years for Sungei Menyala, Pasoh and Bukit Lagong respectively; mortality was not correlated with size class for the lowland forests, but there was some evidence for higher mortality in the larger size classes for the hill forest, this possibly being related to soil instability on steep slopes; the risk of death was about 7-8 times greater for trees with negative or no growth, with suppression leading to higher mortality in canopy than in understorey species; recruitment rates to the 10 cm dbh class were 1.32%, 1.46% and 0.85% yr^-1 at Sungei Menyala, Pasoh and Bukit Lagong respectively; dbh increments were linear over long periods for most trees, future size of individuals therefore predictable from one set of measurements; fast-growing mature trees are estimated to be as young as 60 years; variation in species composition over time was slight compared with variation between sites; sapling composition and density at Sungei Menyala changed greatly over 30 years but that for adults remained constant over 38 years, showing that future canopy composition is unlikely to change without catastrophic disturbances occurring.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-57). Issued also electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format.

No description available.

Dry cloud forests on the western slopes of the Peruvian Andes were mapped from aerial photographs, 306 stands being recorded from 4^o50'S to 12^o47'S. The frequency and area of these stands, as well as most parameters analyzed in the eight sample sites, show a steep decreasing latitudinal trend and are strongly correlated with the latitudinal rainfall gradient. The mean area of the forest stands decreases from 115 ha in northern Peru to 42 ha in central Peru. The number of species recorded decreases along the study area from 52 to 13 and there is a well defined latitudinal sequence of species. Mean density and basal area per hectare of stems ≥10 cm gbh decreases from 2995 individuals and 79.91 m^2 in the north to 500 individuals and 17.27 m^2 in central Peru. The vertical structure is similar throughout the study area, emergent trees reaching on average 22 m and the main canopy 12 m in the north and 13 m and 7 m respectively in central Peru. Regeneration is very active in northern Peru. Juveniles have been found for a high proportion of species, including all common ones, and most species show a logarithmic decline in number of stems with increasing girth. There is a steep decreasing trend towards central Peru, where few species regenerate, mostly shrubs. The pattern found may be the result of the combined effect of grazing and a climatic change towards drier conditions evidenced in the regeneration pattern of most sites.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1999. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-98). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1999. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-106). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Agricultural University, Wageningen, 1987. / Summaries in English and Dutch. Includes vita. Errata slip inserted. Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-169).

Leptosporangiate ferns, with more than 9000 extant species, are truly exceptional among the non-flowering lineages of vascular plants. However, this rather remarkable diversity was not simply a consequence of being able to "hold on" as flowering plants rose to dominance. Instead, it appears to be the result of an ecological opportunistic response to the establishment of more complex, angiosperm-dominated ecosystems. The proliferation of flowering plants across the landscape undoubtedly resulted in the formation of a plethora of new niches into which leptosporangiate ferns could diversify. Many of these were evidently on shady forest floors, but many others were actually within the new angiosperm-dominated canopies. Today, almost one third of leptosporangiate species grow as epiphytes on angiosperm trees. My dissertation aims to demystify the evolution and diversification of epiphytic ferns in order to more fully understand the leptosporangiate success story. By assembling and analyzing the most inclusive molecular dataset for leptosporangiate ferns to date, I provide unprecedented insight into overall fern relationships and a solid and balanced phylogenetic framework within which the evolution of epiphytism can be examined. By employing this phylogeny and numerous constraints from the fern fossil record, I uncover the timing of epiphytic fern diversification and examine the origin of the modern tropical rain forest biome in which these ferns reside. / Dissertation