Living in a Dynamic Tropical Forest Landscape

Living in a Dynamic Tropical Forest Landscape is a compendium of current knowledge of the so-called “Wet Tropics” landscapes of Northeast Australia. These forested landscapes are home to a high proportion of the continent’s species and ecosystems, and have a special significance both nationally and internationally, recognized through World Heritage status granted to the region in 1988.

The Wet Tropics forests of Australia face many of the major threats that other tropical forests around the world are experiencing. Like many of these areas, sustainable management has been hindered by a lack of baseline and applied research. This book reflects the multidisciplinary outcomes focused approach taken by the Rainforest Cooperative Research Centre, a partnership of research providers, including universities and CSIRO, and stakeholders including all levels of government, the tourism industry, conservation sector, and local communities including indigenous people.

The book is presented in six sections with summaries by international luminaries who have placed the chapters in a global context. Social, cultural and economic dimensions are discussed, providing a holistic view of tropical landscape environments. Bringing together a wealth of scientific findings and indigenous ecological knowledge, this book will be of great global interest to a wide range of readers including students, scientists, policy makers and natural resource managers.