Research progress on large, long-term plot of tropical forest ecosystem in the world

Abstract

The tropical rainforest, the world's most biologically rich ecosystem is most poorly understood. To better understand and manage tropical rainforests, the Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, through a consortium of scientific collaborators and institutions around the world, coordinates a network of long-term research programs in the tropical forest. From the first 50 hm(2) plot established in Barro Colorado Island in 1980, CTFS has 18 plots including 3 continents, and CTFS is now monitoring more than 3 million trees of 6 000 species, at least 10% of all known tropical tree species. In 2004, the first large, long-term tropical forest plot of China was suggested to be established in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. This paper discussed the meaning, methods and research progress of large, long-term plot of tropical forest in the world in details. At last, the establishment and research progress of the Chinese large, long-term plots were discussed also.