Forest dynamics plots

Thousands of permanent tree plots, large and small, are scattered across the globe.  Comparing them, however, is often impractical or even misleading due to their incongruent methods.  Little consistency exists among plots in the minimum cutiff size, measurement intervals, focal taxa, life forms, plot shape, and plot size.  The Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) network of Forest Dynamics Plots is unique in maintaining a large, pantropical dataset of comparable tree demographic data.  The advantages of this standardized dataset are numerous.  Most obviously, data can be compared among sites for regional- and global-scale analyses, as illustrated in part 2 of this volume.  From a practical perspective, standardized data also allow statistical and analytical tools to be easily transferred from one study to another, saving researchers the effort of reinventing these tools for each site.

In part 7 we present, for the first time, standardized qualitative and quantitative descriptions of 15 Forest Dynamics Plots.  The 25-ha Khao Chong Forest Dynamics Plot in peninsular Thailand is not included because data from its first census are not yet available.  As background, in this introduction we first briefly describe the methodology used to establish a Forest Dynamics Plot, including modifications made at different sites.