Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T06:39:34.347Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Present Status and Future Prospects of Tropical Moist Forests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2009

Norman Myers
Norman Myers
Affiliation:
Consultant in Conservation and Development, P.O. Box 48197, Nairobi, Kenya.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Tropical moist forests (TMFs) of ‘primary’ status, whether rain-forests or ‘seasonal’ biomes, are currently undergoing widespread conversion—including disruption, degradation, impoverishment, depletion, and outright destruction. These are forms of conversion that range in degree from marginal modification to fundamental transformation—at rates that are anticipated to leave large parts of the biomes involved in grossly altered states, if not eliminated altogether, by the end of the present century. The remaining portions could well undergo similar patterns of conversion within the first two or three decades of the next century.

This would mean the virtual end of the biomes that are ecologically more complex, biotically far richer, and scientifically less known, than any others on Earth. It would precipitate some ultimate shifts in the course of evolution. It would also entail the irreversible loss of many unique natural resources that offer multiple utilitarian benefits—inter alia through modern agriculture, medicine, and industry—to human society now and for ever.

Type
Main Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , Summer 1980 , pp. 101 - 114
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1980

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Altschul, S. von R. (1977). Exploring the herbarium. Scientific American, 236(5), pp. 96–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amaya, S. (1977). Wood—the neglected resource. Report (monthly publication of International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada), 6(1), pp. 8–9.Google Scholar
Arnold, J. E. M. & Jongma, J. (1979). Fuel-wood and charcoal in developing countries. Unasylva, 29(118), pp. 2–9.Google Scholar
Ashton, P. S. (1964). Ecological Studies in the Mixed Dip-terocarp forests of Brunei State. Oxford Forest Memoirs No. 25.*Google Scholar
Aubreville, A. M. A. (1947). The disappearance of the tropical forests of Africa. Unasylva, 1(1), pp. 5–11.Google Scholar
Baur, G. (1964). The Ecological Basis of Rain-forest Management. Forestry Commission of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.*Google Scholar
Beard, J. S. (1955). The classification of tropical American vegetation types. Ecology, 36, pp. 89–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boonyobhas, C. & Klankamsorn, B. (1976). Application of ERTS-I Imagery in Forestry. National Research Council of Thailand, Bangkok, Thailand, Technical Report 760130.*Google Scholar
Braun, H. (1974). Shifting Cultivation in Africa. Report of the FAO/SIDA/ARCN Regional Seminar on Shifting Cultivation and Soil Conservation in Africa. Food and Agriculture Organization. Rome, Italy.*Google Scholar
Brünig, E. F. (1977). The tropical rain-forests—a wasted asset or an essential biospheric resource? Ambio, 6(4), pp. 187–91.Google Scholar
Burgess, P. F. (1973). The impact of commercial forestry on the hill forests of the Malay Peninsula: Proceedings of Symposium on Biological Resources and Natural Development. BioIndonesia, 1, pp. 17–23.Google Scholar
Calvin, M. (1978). Green factories. Chemical and Engineering News, 56, pp. 30–6.Google Scholar
Chandrasekharan, C. (Ed.) (1978). Shifting cultivation. Forest News, 2(2), pp. 1–25.Google Scholar
Clarke, W. C. (1976). Maintenance of agriculture and human habitats within the tropical forest ecosystem. Human Ecology, 4, pp. 247–59.Google Scholar
Denevan, W. M. (1977). The Causes and Consequences of Shifting Cultivation in Relation to Tropical Forest Survival. Paper presented to International Congress of Latin-American Geographers, Paipa, Colombia, 3–9 08 1977. Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin: 16 pp., mimeogr.Google Scholar
Denevan, W. M. (Ed.) (1978). The Role of Geographical Research in Latin America. C.L.A.G. Publications, Muncie, Indiana: vi + 213 pp., maps.Google Scholar
Dickinson, J. C. (1973). Protein flight from Latin America. Pp. 127–32 in Latin American Development Issues (Ed. Hill, A. D.). C.L.A.G. Publications No. 3, East Lansing, Michigan.*Google Scholar
Dwoskin, P. B. (1975). Fast-food Franchises: Market Potentials for Agricultural Products in Foreign and Domestic Markets. Economic Research Service No. 596, US Department of Agriculture, Washington D.C.6Google Scholar
Erfurth, T. (1976). Toward the wider use of tropical wood products. Unasylva, 26 (112–3), pp. 119–26.Google Scholar
Ewel, J. & Conde, L. (1976). Potential Ecological Impact of Increased Intensity of Tropical Forest Utilization. Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, Wisconsin.*Google Scholar
Farnworth, E. G. & Golley, F. G. (Ed.) (1974). Fragile Ecosystems: Evolution of Research and Application in the Neotropics, Springer-Verlag, New York, N.Y.: xxvi + 258 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization [cited as FAO] (1974). The State of Food and Agriculture. FAO, Rome, Italy: x + 174 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization [cited as FAO] (1977). Yearbook of Forest Products. FAO, Rome, Italy: lvii + 392 pp.Google Scholar
Food and Agriculture Organization [cited as FAO] (1979). Agriculture Towards 2000. FAO, Rome, Italy: xxxvii + 297, illustr.Google Scholar
Foreign Agricultural Service of US Department of Agriculture (1976). Costa Rica: Agricultural Situation, and Livestock and Meat. US Department of Agriculture, Washington, DC.*Google Scholar
Golley, F. B. & Medina, E. (Ed.) (1975). Tropical Ecological Systems. Springer-Veriag, New York, NY.*CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gomez-Pompa, A., Waynes, C. Vazuez & Guevara, S. (1972). The tropical rain-forests. A non-renewable resource. Science, 177, pp. 762–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenland, D. J. (1975). Bringing the green revolution to the shifting cultivator. Science, 190, pp. 841–4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenland, D. J. & Herrera, R. (1977). Shifting cultivation and other agricultural practices. Patterns of Use of Tropical Forest Ecosystems. Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, U.K.*Google Scholar
Hadi, S. & Suparto, R. S. (Ed.) (1977). Proceedings of Symposium on the Long-term Effects of Logging in Southeast Asia. Regional Center for Tropical Biology, Bogor, Indonesia.*Google Scholar
Hauck, F. W. (1974). Shifting Cultivation and Soil Conservation in Africa. FAO, Rome, Italy, Soils Bulletin No. 24.*Google Scholar
Hecht, S. (1979). Spontaneous legumes of developed pastures of the Amazon and their forage potential. Pp. 65–78 in Pasture Production in Acid Soils of the Tropics (Ed. Sanchez, P. A. & Tergas, L. E.). Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Cali, Colombia.*Google Scholar
Holdridge, L. R. (1967). Life-zone Ecology (revised edn). Tropical Science Center, San José, Costa Rica.*Google Scholar
Holdridge, L. R., Grenke, W. C., Hathaway, W. H., Liang, T. & Tosi, J. A. (1971). Forest Environments in Tropical Life Zones. Pergamon Press, New York, NY.*Google Scholar
Kartawinata, K. (1975). The exploitation of natural forests and natural areas development. BioIndonesia, 1, pp. 17–23.Google Scholar
King, K. F. S. & Chandler, T. (1978). Wasted Lands. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya: 36 pp.Google Scholar
Klankamsorn, B. (1978). Use of satellite imagery to assess forest deterioration in eastern Thailand. Pp. 1299–1306 in Proceedings of 12th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of the Environment, Manila, Vol. II: Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.*Google Scholar
Kunstadter, P., Chapman, E. C. & Sabhasri, S. (Ed.) (1978). Farmers in the Forest: Economic Development and Marginal Agriculture in Northern Thailand. University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii.*Google Scholar
Lachowski, H. M. & Dietrich, D. L. (1978). Forest Inventory of the Philippines Using Satellite Imagery. General Electric Company, Beltsville, Maryland: 10 pp., mimeogr.Google Scholar
Lachowski, H. M., Dietrich, D. L., Umali, R. M., Aquino, E. A. & Basa, V. A. (1978). Landsat-assisted Forest Inventory of the Philippine Islands. NRMC Research Monograph No. 4. Natural Resources Management Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Manila, Philippines.*Google Scholar
Lanly, J. P. (1969). La régression de la forêt dense en Côte d'Ivoire. Bois et Forêts des Tropiques, No. 127, pp. 45–59.Google Scholar
Lanly, J. P. & Clement, J. (1979). Present and Future Forest and Plantation Areas in the Tropics. FAO, Rome, Italy, FO:MISC/79/1.*Google Scholar
Lappe, F. M. & Collins, J. (1977). Food First: Beyond the Myth of Scarcity. Houghton Mifflin, Boston, Massachusetts.*Google Scholar
Lekagul, B. & McNeely, J. (1978). Thailand launches extensive reafforestation program. Tigerpaper, 5(1), pp. 9–13.Google Scholar
Lewis, W. H. & Elvin-Lewis, M. P. F. (1977).Medice Botany. John Wiley & Sons, New York, NY.*Google Scholar
Mathur, R. S. (1975). Trends in the consumption of wood in India. Indian Forester.*Google Scholar
Morton, J. F. (1977). Major Medicinal Plants. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Illinois.*Google Scholar
Myers, N. (1978). What use is wildlife? Earthscan Press Briefing Document, No. 11, Earthscan, London, UK: 20 pp.Google Scholar
Myers, N. (1979). The Sinking Ark: A New Look at the Problem of Disappearing Species. Pergamon Press, Oxford, UK: xi + 307 pp.Google Scholar
Myers, N. (1980). Report of Survey of Conversion Rates in Tropical Moist Forests. National Research Council, Washington, DC: ix + 205 pp., tables & illustr.Google Scholar
National Academy of Sciences (1975). Underexploited Tropical Plants with Promising Economic Value. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC: ix + 188 pp.Google Scholar
Openshaw, K. (1978). Woodfuel—a time for re-assessment. U.N. Natural Resources Forum, 2(5).*Google Scholar
Osbourn, D. F. (1975). Beef production from improved pastures in the tropics. World Review of Animal Production, 11(4), pp. 23–31.Google Scholar
Parsons, J. J. (1976). Forest to pasture: Development or destruction? Revista Biologica Tropical, 24 (Suppl. 1), pp. 121–38.Google Scholar
Persson, R. (1974). World Forest Resources. Royal College of Forestry, Stockholm, Sweden, Research Notes No. 17, iii + 261 pp.Google Scholar
Persson, R. (1975). Forest Resources of Africa, Part I: Country Descriptions. Department of Forest Survey, Royal College of Forestry, Stockholm, Sweden, Research Notes No. 18, 294 pp.Google Scholar
Persson, R. (1977). Forest Resources of Africa, Part II: Regional Analysis. Department of Forest Survey, Royal College of Forestry, Stockholm, Sweden, Research Note No. 22.*Google Scholar
Poore, M. E. D. (1976). Ecological Guidelines for Development in Tropical Rain-forests. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Morges, Switzerland.*Google Scholar
Richards, P. W. (1952). The Tropical Rain Forest. Cambridge University Press, London, UK: xviii + 450 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
Richards, P. W. (1973). The tropical rain forest. Scientific American, 229(6), pp. 58–68.Google Scholar
Roque, C. R. (1978). Remote Sensing Program of the Philippines. Natural Resources Management Center, Department of Natural Resources, Quezon City, Philippines: 3 pp., mimeogr.Google Scholar
Schultes, R. E. (1976). Hallucinogenic Plants. Golden Press, Rasine, Wisconsin: 160 pp.Google Scholar
Sommer, A. (1976). Attempt at an assessment of the world's tropical moist forests. Unasylva, 28(112–3), pp. 5–24.Google Scholar
Sumitro, A. (1976). Foreign Investment in the Forest-Based Sector of Indonesia: Increasing its Contribution to Indonesian Development. Faculty of Forestry, University of Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.*Google Scholar
Synnott, T. J. (1977). Monitoring Tropical Forests: A Review with Special Reference to Africa. Monitoring and Assessment Research Centre, Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment, International Council of Scientific Unions, Paris, France.*Google Scholar
Tardin, A. T. [and twelve others] (1979). Levantamento de Ares de Desmatamento na Amazonia Legal Atraves de Imogens do Satelite Landsat. National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São Jose dos Campos, Brazil, Report No. INPE-1411-NTE/142.*Google Scholar
Tinal, U. & Palenewen, J. L. (1974). A Study of Mechanical Logging Damage After Selective Cutting in the Lowland Dipterocarp Forest of East Kalimantan. Regional Centre for Tropical Biology (BIOTROP), Bogor, Indonesia.*Google Scholar
UNESCO (1974). International Working Group on Project I: Ecological Effects of Increasing Human Activities on Tropical and Sub-tropical Forest Ecosystems, Final Report. Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Report Series No. 16, UNESCO, Paris, France: 96 pp., illustr.Google Scholar
UNESCO (1978). Tropical Forest Ecosystems: A State-of-knowledge Report. Natural Resources Research XIV, UNESCO, Paris, France: 683 pp., maps.Google Scholar
Wagner, H. & Wolff, P. (1977). New Natural Products and Plant Drugs. Springer Verlag, New York, NY.*Google Scholar
Watters, R. F. (1971). Shifting Cultivation in Latin America. FAO, Rome, Italy.*Google Scholar
Webb, J. L. (1977). The dynamics of tropical rain-forests. Forestry Log, 10, pp. 11–8.Google Scholar
Webb, J. L. (1978). A general classification of Australian rainforest. Australian Plants, 9(76), pp. 349–63.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. (1975). Tropical Rain Forests of the Far East. Clarendon Press, Oxford, and Oxford University Press, London, UK: xiii + 282 pp., illustr.Google Scholar