Harold A. Mooney

Francis E. Putz

This 1992 book is a treatment of what was known about climbing plants, written by a group of experts.

The Biology of Vines

Stefan Schnitzer

Frans Bongers

Robyn J. Burnham

We propose an edited volume on the ecology of lianas comprised of chapters written by some of the foremost ecologists in the field. We have also identified a number of junior scientists who are beginning to make an impact on the field and could contribute new research and exciting results. Ultimately, we believe that this book will address issues of importance for all ecologists, temperate and tropical alike, and will be instrumental in stimulating further research in forest ecology in general, as well as on the ecology of lianas. The main goal of this book is to present a volume on the current status of liana ecology in tropical and temperate forests. In essence, we will use this book as a forum to summarize and synthesize the most recent research in liana ecology and to address how this research fits into the broader field of ecology. In the course of reviewing what is new and exciting, we will point out liana-related issues that deserve more attention from researchers. The intended audience for this book includes advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and researchers in forest ecology at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. Ideally, each chapter will include a brief introduction of the relevant concept or theory, a review of the current state of liana-related research on this theory, including the author's own contributions. Although this book will focus on current research in liana ecology, many of the proposed chapters will also cover theories that are applicable to all ecological systems not just tropical ones and not just focusing on lianas. Consequently, we believe that this book will target a broad audience of ecologists. Each chapter will follow a similar format. The first part of the chapter will include a concise history and review of the concept or theory at hand. The rest of the chapter will be devoted to the presentation and interpretation of empirical data addressing that concept or theory. The author of each chapter will have the leeway to use new or unpublished data or to synthesize and summarize his/her data or data of other authors. Although we believe that the way to make this book the best is as outlined above, authors will, of course, write the manuscripts in a way that reflects their approach and style.

Ecology of Lianas

Erin O. Sills

Claudia Romero

Manuel R. Guariguata

Guilherme R. Lima

Luciana Papp

Maureen Voigtlaender

Edson Vidal

Management decisions on appropriate practices and policies regarding tropical forests often need to be made in spite of innumerable uncertainties and complexities. Among the uncertainties are the lack of formalization of lessons learned regarding the impacts of previous programs and projects. Beyond the challenges of generating the proper information on these impacts, there are other difficulties that relate with how to socialize the information and knowledge gained so that change is transformational and enduring. The main complexities lie in understanding the interactions of social-ecological systems at different scales and how they varied through time in response to policy and other processes. This volume is part of a broad research effort to develop an independent evaluation of certification impacts with stakeholder input, which focuses on FSC certification of natural tropical forests. More specifically, the evaluation program aims at building the evidence base of the empirical biophysical, social, economic, and policy effects that FSC certification of natural forest has had in Brazil as well as in other tropical countries. The contents of this volume highlight the opportunities and constraints that those responsible for managing natural forests for timber production have experienced in their efforts to improve their practices in Brazil. As such, the goal of the studies in this volume is to serve as the foundation to design an impact evaluation framework of the impacts of FSC certification of natural forests in a participatory manner with interested parties, from institutions and organizations, to communities and individuals.

The context of natural forest management and FSC certification in Brazil

Francis E. Putz

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