A textbook of rain-forest ecology in the Malesian region (which the author has studied intensively in the field), with particularly detailed treatments of Malaysia and Papua New Guinea/Melanesia. The book comprises 5 parts: Introduction (flora, fauna, and forest structure); Seasonality (climate and phenology); Growth of the forest (regeneration, silviculture and yield); Kinds of forest (including a chapter on soils, giving their 1967 USDA classifications, by C.P. Burnham); and Man and the tropical rain forest. Emphasis is given to recent research on the autecology, especially phenology, of individual tree species, and the variation in composition within rain-forest communities. Other themes receiving special treatment are: animal ecology and the interactions of animals with plants; quantitative studies of plant growth and productivity; the monsoon forest/rain forest ecotone between the Isthmus of Kra and Peninsular Malaysia; conifers, especially those of commercial interest (Agathis, Araucaria and Pinus spp.); and secondary forest and shifting cultivation. The figures include many profile diagrams and excellent photos of forest stands, and there are indexes to plant names and general subjects (including geographical names).
