Abstract
This synthesis chapter provides an overview of the 23 chapters of this book. With more than 1000 tree species, Amazonian floodplain forests are the most diverse forests of this kind. They occur in different forms and under different hydrological and chemical (water and soil) conditions. Forests in nutrient rich whitewater river floodplains (várzeas) are richer in species, more dynamic, and more productive than those of black- and clearwater rivers. The new species colonization concept explains the relationship between upland and várzea forests. A model of forest succession is provided that indicates the development of different seral stages under different hydrological and sedimentological conditions. Trees react to long-term flooding and water-logging of the soils with many anatomical, morphological, physiological and phonological adaptations, which result in specific life history traits. Seed production, seedling establishment, and sapling survival are of fundamental importance for the regeneration of these forests and their reactions to the frequent set-backs caused by erosion and sedimentation processes. Until now, the use of floodplain forests has been restricted to highly selective timber exploitation, which depletes the stocks of the respective tree species. A management model, based on growth-oriented logging (GOL) is provided here. In this model, the extraction of the logs depends on water levels, the maximums and minimums of which can be predicted using new model based on sea surface water temperatures in the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. Such predictions would facilitate the management of the natural resources of the varzea, including management using forestry. When the many riparian forests are included, floodplain forests cover about one third of the Amazonian rain forest area. However, this fact has not been considered in management aspects and climate models for Amazonia. Global climate changes certainly will affect the hydrological cycle in Amazonia. However, we consider the prediction by the Hadley Center of a near “savannization” of the Amazon forest to be without sufficient scientific basis and unhelpful, because it may even accelerate the deforestation of Amazonia. The maintenance of intact wetlands will be very important for the sponge function of the landscape, which acts to retain water and to buffer extremely dry and wet periods. In this context, the floodplain forest is of utmost importance as a refuge for many plant and animal species.
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Junk, W.J., Piedade, M.T.F., Parolin, P., Wittmann, F., Schöngart, J. (2010). Ecophysiology, Biodiversity and Sustainable Management of Central Amazonian Floodplain Forests: A Synthesis. In: Junk, W., Piedade, M., Wittmann, F., Schöngart, J., Parolin, P. (eds) Amazonian Floodplain Forests. Ecological Studies, vol 210. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8725-6_24
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