Tropical tree physiology

摘要: Our World is changing rapidly, yet, how tropical forests will respond to this change and in turn dampen or accelerate its ripple effects is essentially a physiological question. Addressing important questions regarding the impacts of changes in land utilization, such as deforestation, and effects of global climate change will require specific information on tropical tree physiology. Earth system modeling scientists are clamoring for more physiological data from tropical trees. It seems that the scarcity of information on the physiological responses of trees is the greatest source of uncertainly in predicting how the tropical rain forests will respond to increasing greenhouse gases and in particular increasing atmospheric CO2. For example, tree species can adjust their physiological behavior to increasing global temperatures or decreases in precipitation, or they can be replaced by other species better adapted to the new …