In a I-ha plot all ground herb species were recorded. Within the plot selected properties were investigated in three 20 m × 20 m subplots. The number of ground herb species and individuals in the subplots were lowest near to a local hilltop and they increased towards the lowest part of the plot. There was no significant difference in canopy openness, or in thickness of leaf litter layer, between the upper and lower subplots. In the upper subplot the soil layer was thin and the weathered bedrock was close to the surface. In the lower subplot the soil was much deeper. The pH and concentrations of Mg were significantly lower and %loss-on-ignition, total P and total N concentrations were significantly higher in the upper subplot. Elevation and soil moisture were significantly correlated in the upper 10 cm of soil. It is not possible to select any one abiotic property as being the critical determinant of the gradient of ground herbs. However, it is suspected that the availability of water in the topsoil, particularly after droughts, may be more important than the soil nutrients in limiting herb distribution.

A permanent plot of 28 ha was established in a dense wet evergreen forest in the Western Ghats of India to study the functioning of the ecosystem. Since April 1990, 1981 trees of ≥30 cm gbh have been enumerated in a systematic sampling of five strips totalling 3.12 ha. This paper describes the main structural and floristic characteristics of the plot.

The density (635 trees ≥30 cm gbh per hectare) and basal area (39.7 m2 ha−1) are high. Despite the high diversity (Simpson's D = 0.92 and Shannon's H' = 4.56), four species are distinctly, dominant in terms of an importance value index (relative density + relative basal area). Each of these four species occupies a different layer in the ecosystem: Humboldtia brunonis Wall. (Fabaceae) dominates the undergrowth, Myristica dactyloïdes Gaertn. (Myristicaceae) the intermediate strata, Valeria indica L. (Dipterocarpaceae) the higher canopy level and Dipterocarpus indicus Bedd. (Dipterocarpaceae) the emergents. This pronounced species hierarchy is one of the most important characteristics of the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats. The two dipterocarps account for 20.1% of the total number of trees and contribute 40.9% to the total basal area. This formation can, therefore, be considered as the westernmost lowland dipterocarp forest of Asia.

Analysis of the spatial variations in the floristic composition and in the structure of the main species populations shows that two kinds of mature phases can be identified: where the topography is raised and gently sloping, the vertical structure of the stand is discontinuous, with Dipterocarpus indicus and Vateria indica forming an emergent layer above a dense undergrowth; on slopes, the stand is lower, vertically continuous and saturated with Valeria indica and Myristica dactyloïdes. The link between the structure of the stand and dynamic processes is discussed.

Trapping was conducted in primary and secondary forests to investigate the effects of past logging on small mammal communities. Thirteen I-ha sites were snap-trapped for three consecutive days in tropical monsoon rainforest in Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, southern China. A total of 3900 trap-days yielded 198 captures, of which 118 were in the primary forest and 80 in the secondary forest. A total of 12 ground-dwelling species (eight Rodentia, Muridae; three Insectivora, Soricidae; one Insectivora, Erinaceidae) were caught, five (all Rodentia, Muridae) occurred in the primary forest and 11 in the secondary forest. The most abundant species was Niviventer confucianus, accounting for 62% and 39% of the total captures in the primary and the secondary forests, respectively. In the secondary forest the mean abundances of the two dominant species, N. confucianus and Maxomys surifer, were reduced, and a non-commensal form of Rattus rattus disappeared, but N. fulvescens showed no change while Mus pahari increased. The seven species which occurred only in secondary forest had very low abundance. Overall, the multivariate Mantel test showed the two communities to be significantly different. After logging, species diversity increased, and the two dominant species had increased body mass and their mean abundance decreased.

The abundance of all tree and shrub species has been monitored for eight years in a 50 ha census plot in tropical moist forest in central Panama. Here we examine population trends of the 219 most numerous species in the plot, assessing the impact of a long-term drying trend. Population change was calculated as the mean rate of increase (or decrease) over eight years, considering either all stems ≥10 mm diameter at breast height (dbh) or just stems ≥100 mm dbh. For stems ≥10 mm, 40% of the species had mean growth rates <1% per year (either increasing or decreasing) and 12% had changes ≥5% per year. For stems ≥100 mm, the figures were 38% and 8%.

Species that specialize on the slopes of the plot, a moist microhabitat relative to the plateau, suffered significantly more declines in abundance than species that did not prefer slopes (stems ≥10 mm dbh). This pattern was due entirely to species of small stature: 91% of treelets and shrubs that were slope-specialists declined in abundance, but just 19% of non-slope treelets and shrubs declined. Among larger trees, slope and non-slope species fared equally. For stems ≥100 mm dbh, the slope effect vanished because there were few shrubs and treelets with stems ≥100 mm dbh. Another edaphic guild of species, those occurring preferentially in a small swamp in the centre of the plot, were no more likely to decline in abundance than non-swamp species, regardless of growth form. Species that preferentially colonize canopy gaps in the plot were slightly more likely to decrease in abundance than non-colonizing species (only for stems ≥10 mm dbh, not ≥100 mm). Despite this overall trend, however, several colonizing species had the most rapidly increasing populations in the plot.

The impact of a 25-year drying trend and an associated increase in the severity of the 4-month dry season is having an obvious impact on the BCI forest. At least 16 species of shrubs and treelets with affinities for moist microhabitats are headed for extinction in the plot. Presumably, these species invaded the forest during a wetter period prior to 1966. A severe drought of 1983 that caused unusually high tree mortality contributed to this trend, and may also have been responsible for sharp increases in abundance of a few gap-colonizers because it temporarily opened the forest canopy. The BCI forest is remarkably sensitive to a subtle climatic shift, yet we do not know whether this is typical for tropical forests because no other large-scale censuses exist for comparison.

Ant species were sampled in three rainforest and 10 rehabilitated bauxite mine plots at Trombetas, in the tropical monsoonal region of Brazil. Rehabilitation ranged from 0 to 11 years in age and was mainly performed by planting mixed native forest tree species. One plot supported single-species blocks of Australian Eucalyptus and Acacia species. Two hundred and six ant species were recorded, of which 82 were exclusively found in the native vegetation, 54 were confined to the rehabilitation and 70 were found in both situations. In contrast with other studies, ant species richness in the Eucalyptus/Acacia plantation was as great as in the areas rehabilitated with native vegetation. The overall rate of return of ant species was considerably greater than in mines situated within subtropical regions of Brazil, Africa and Australia. However, if the greater richness of ants in the native vegetation at Trombetas was accounted for, the proportional return of the original ant fauna was not particularly rapid. The return of ant species slowed as the rehabilitated areas aged. In comparison with forest, the rehabilitation was characterized by proportionately more generalist species and fewer specialists, especially from the soil and litter layers. The full range of habitat requirements for the ant community has not been restored by the eleventh year of rehabilitation and further management may be required to enhance the degree of colonization. It is suggested that the findings for ants may apply to other components of the biota as well.

Effects of irradiance, root competition and water availability on germination and seedling establishment of Swietenia macrophylla King were investigated in tropical secondary dry forests in the Guanacaste Conservation Area, Costa Rica. The fate of seeds sown in the beginning and the middle of the rainy season was studied in abandoned pasture, and in deciduous and semi-evergreen secondary forest. In the pasture, experimental treatments were mown and unmown grass. In the forest sites, thinning to increase light and trenching to reduce root competition were combined in a factorial design. Effects of moisture availability on germination were tested by supplementing natural rainfall in the initial rainy month. Germination at the beginning of the rainy season was not influenced by the supplementary water and was higher in the semi-evergreen forest than in the deciduous forest and pasture. In the forests, germination was little affected by irradiance or root competition. More seeds germinated in unmown than in mown pasture during the initial rains, but were not influenced by mowing when sown in the peak of the rainy season. Seedling mortality was low (>10%) during the initial months, but increased greatly in the dry season. Seedlings germinating early in the rainy season had a higher survival than those germinating later. The relatively slight effects of the different treatments and habitats on seedling establishment suggest that this species is rather insensitive to the large microsite variation in secondary vegetation.

In the tropical forest of Barro Colorado Island, habitat characteristics, diel acidity changes, CO2 uptake and growth were investigated for the epiphytic cactus Epiphyllum phyllanthus (L.) Haw. It occurred most frequently in tree cavities with its roots in canopy soil and was especially abundant on two tree species: Platypodium elegans J. Vogel and Tabebuia guayacan (Seem.) Hemsl. Its maximum net CO2 uptake rates were low under natural conditions (1.4 μmol m−1) but were comparable to those of other CAM and C3 epiphytes under wet conditions in a screenhouse. Under both natural conditions and in the screenhouse, partial shade enhanced growth and CAM activity. When plants grew under a photosynthetic photon flux of c. 4 mol m−2 d−1, their nocturnal acidity increase and total net CO2 uptake were twice as much as for plants growing at lower (an average of 2.4 mol m−2 d−1) and higher (7.7 mol m−2 d−1) photosynthetic photon fluxes. Stem elongation was 27% greater at the intermediate photosynthetic photon flux. Seedlings of E. phyllanthus survived three months of drought and responded rapidly to rewetting, recovering fully within three days. Transpiration rates and nocturnal acidity increases also recovered to the values of well-watered plants a few days after rewetting, indicating that this species can take advantage of episodic rainfall during the dry season.