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Temperate Forests of North and South America

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Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 152))

Abstract

Temperate regions of the world sustain forests comparable in extension and biomass to that of tropical forests. Although they are less speciose than tropical forests, temperate forests harbor notable numbers of endemics, especially in remote and isolated regions of the southern hemisphere (Armesto et al. 1996a; Arroyo et al. 1996). They also contain some of the oldest living organ-isms on Earth. Some living conifers in temperate forests are frequently older than 1000 years, and species such as Fitzroya cupressoides live for 3000 years or more (Lara and Villalba 1993; Hill and Enright 1995). These long-lived temperate trees provide an invaluable and irreplaceable record of climatic changes during the last millenium. In addition, temperate forests are currently the major source of timber and related wood products worldwide. Thus, their long-term sustainability is of utmost economic importance, both regionally and globally.

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Authors
  1. Juan J. Armesto
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  2. R. Rozzi
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  3. J. Caspersen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA

    F. Stuart Chapin III

  2. Department of Ecology and IFEVA Faculty of Agronomy, University of Buenos Aires and CONICET, Buenos Aisres, 1417, Argentina

    Osvaldo E. Sala

  3. Departmento de Ingeniería Ambiental y Manejo de Recursos Naturales, Instituto Potosino de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas, San Luis Potosí, SLP, México

    Elisabeth Huber-Sannwald

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Armesto, J.J., Rozzi, R., Caspersen, J. (2001). Temperate Forests of North and South America. In: Chapin, F.S., Sala, O.E., Huber-Sannwald, E. (eds) Global Biodiversity in a Changing Environment. Ecological Studies, vol 152. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0157-8_11

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