Tài liệu REPRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY OF TROPICAL FOREST PLANTS pdf

IUBS Unesco IVQB

REPRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY OF

TROPICAL FOREST PLANTS

Research lnsights and Management Implications

by

K.S. Bawa, P.S. Ashton, R. B. Primack, J. Terborgh,

Çalleh Mohd. Nor, F.S.P. Ng and M. Hadley

REPRODUCTIVE ECOLOGY OF

TROPICAL FOREST PLANTS

Research lnsights and Management Implications

by K.S. Bawa, P.S. Ashton, R.B. Prirnack,J. Terborgh,

Salleh Mohd.Nor, F.S.P. Ng and M. Hadley

Based on an lnternatlonal workshop organlzed by

UnesceMAB and IUBS, In cooperatlon wlth the Universltl

Kebangsaan Malaysla and the Malayslan MAB National

Commlttee, and heid In Bang1 (Malaysla) from 8-12 June 1987

SPECIAL ISSUE - 21

BIOLOGY INTERNATIONAL

THE INTERNATIONAL UNION OF BlOLOGlCAL SCIENCES

NEWS MAGAZINE

IUBS 1989

Preface

The unabated devastation of tropical wildlands has become one of the most

pressing issues of Our times. Not only are the rates of deforestation very high,

but also approximately 40% of the existing forest areas have been degraded in

recent times. It is estimated that tropical rain forests will largely disappear in

about 30 years time, except for those that might be conserved as nature reser￾ves. Obviously there is a need for greater investment in scientific research in

ecology, conservation and management of tropical rain forests worldwide..

There are three crucial interrelated issues that a manager of indigenous fo￾rests must address: depletion of forest resources, regeneration and restoration

of forest ecosystems, and conservation of genetic resources. The challenges ge￾nerated by the reduction and degradation of forest cover can be adequately met

only if serious attempts are made to manage and restore forest ecosystems.

Restoration inevitably must involve improved reforestation of degraded lands

through plantations of native species, and the extension of forest boundaries by

artificial and natural regeneration. Finally, coupled with effective management

including restoration, conservation of existing genetic resources is of high prio￾rity. The resources to be conserved and the manner in which they ought to be

conserved are serious issues requiring strong scientific input.

Most research on the reproductive ecology of tropical forest plants from flo￾wering to regeneration, however, has had strong theoretical underpinnings. The

test of predictions emerging from hypotheses relating to coevolution and the

structure, organization and dynamics of communities has been a major impetus

for much of the work. Nevertheless, many types of basic research in reproduc￾tive ecology have strong practical applications in management and conserva￾tion of forest resources (Bawa and Krugman, 1990).

In June 1987 a workshop on the reproductive ecology of tropical forest

plants was held at Bangi, Malaysia, to review recent research in plant reproduc￾tive ecology and to examine the application of such research to the manage￾ment and conservation of forest resources. Reproductive ecology was defined

to include all stages of reproduction from the initiation of flowering to seedling

establishment. The workshop was jointly sponsored by the Man and Biosphere

Program of Unesco and the Decade of the Tropics Program of IUBS, in coope￾ration with the Malaysian MAB National Committee and the Universiti Ke￾bangsaan Malaysia. It was based on 20 invited papers and some 50 offered

contributions, in the form of both oral and poster presentations.

In this report, we provide a brief summary of the invited papers in the

context of major issues and points raised by the workshop participants. Sec￾tions correspond more or less to the various sessions of the workshop. The full

text of the papers is being published as a separate volume in Unesco's Man and

the Biosphere Book Series (Bawa and Hadley, 1990).

Contents

Reproductive cost in relation to stand structure

and plantation design

Phenology

Plant-pollination interactions, sexual systems, gene flow and

genetic variation

Seed and fruit dispersa1

Seed physiology, seed germination and seedling ecology

Regeneration

Reproductive biology and tree improvement programs

Conclusions

Literature cited

Glossary of terms