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Ecology of Lianas

ISBN: 978-1-118-39248-5

October 2014

Wiley-Blackwell

504 pages

Description

Lianas are woody vines that were the focus of intense study by early ecologists, such as Darwin, who devoted an entire book to the natural history of climbing plants.  Over the past quarter century, there has been a resurgence in the study of lianas, and liana are again recognized as important components of many forests, particularly in the tropics.  The increasing amount of research on lianas has resulted in a fundamentally deeper understanding of liana ecology, evolution, and life-history, as well as the myriad roles lianas play in forest dynamics and functioning. 
This book provides insight into the ecology and evolution of lianas, their anatomy, physiology, and natural history, their global abundance and distribution, and their wide-ranging effects on the myriad organisms that inhabit tropical and temperate forests.

About the Author

Dr Stefan A. Schnitzer has studied tropical forest ecology in Borneo, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, and Panama.  He is currently a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, and a Research Associate with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the Republic of Panama. 

Frans Bongers has studied lianas for 20 years, analysing liana communities, populations and autecology, as well as liana use and management, mostly in the context of forest dynamics. He is Professor of Tropical Forest Ecology  at Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands.

Robyn J. Burnham is Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan and a Research Associate at Smithsonian Institution, Field Museum, and Missouri Botanical Garden. She has a dedicated focus on the species of climbing plants that dominate the Amazon Basin, from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and all the way across Brazil, to the mouth of the Amazon river. 

Francis E. Putz started his research on liana ecology and management in the 1970s in Southeast Asia, but has since spent an equal amount of time in Latin America researching vines and forest conservation. He is a Professor at the University of Florida and a Senior Research Associate with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Indonesia.