ForestPlots.net's partners are dedicated to understanding the lives of trees and ecosystems. Measurements of individual trees in hundreds of locations using standardised techniques allows the behaviour of tropical forests to be measured, monitored and understood.
Forests are the heart and lungs of our planet. They house species, regulate climate, and support humanity. These roles are critically concentrated in the tropics, where they store a quarter of Earth’s living carbon, generate one third its productivity, and provide a home to half its species. Understanding their fate has never been more important than now, with environmental changes affecting even the remotest tropical forests.
With a focus on the tropics, ForestPlots.net includes over 6.8 million tree measurements from more than 21,000 species. The first was made as long ago as 1939, the latest as recently as last month.
Over 2500 researchers working together to measure Earth’s tropical forests. Our article describes how long-term collaborative networks across Africa, South America and Asia have transformed the way we do science. Working together, colleagues have discovered where and why forest carbon and biodiversity are responding to climate change, and how they feedback on it. We provide a vision for more integrated and equitable monitoring of Earth's most precious ecosystems.
Biological Conservation. ForestPlots.net et al 2021. DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108849
ForestPlots Newsletter October 2023
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ForestPlots Newsletter June 2021
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Tropical forests can handle the heat, up to a point
Sustainable palm fruit harvesting
Amazon forest canopy at dawn, Brazil. Image courtesy of ©Peter van der Sleen 2009.
Lianas in Barro Colorado Island in Panama. Image courtesy of ©Yadvinder Malhi 2002
