to Neotropical Montane Oak Forests -- Global and Neotropical Distribution and Diversity of Oak (genus Quercus) and Oak Forests -- Paleo-Ecology and Biogeography -- Immigration of Oak into Northern South America: a Paleo-Ecological Document -- Effects of the Younger Dryas Cooling Event on Late Quaternary Montane Oak Forest in Costa Rica -- Altitudinal Zonation of Montane Oak Forests Along Climate and Soil Gradients in Costa Rica -- Saprotrophic and Ectomycorrhizal Macrofungi of Costa Rican Oak Forests -- Diversity and Biogeography of Lichens in Neotropical Montane Oak Forests -- Epiphytic Communities of Bryophytes and Macrolichens in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest -- Stand Structure and Composition -- Composition and Structure of Humid Montane Oak Forests at Different Sites in Central and Eastern Mexico -- Oak Forests of the Hyper-Humid Region of La Chinantla, Northern Oaxaca Range, Mexico -- Structure and Composition of Costa Rican Montane Oak Forests -- Structure and Composition of Colombian Montane Oak Forests -- Population Dynamics -- Regeneration and Population Dynamics of Quercus rugosa at the Ajusco Volcano, Mexico -- Ecology of Acorn Dispersal by Small Mammals in Montane Forests of Chiapas, Mexico -- Establishment, Survival and Growth of Tree Seedlings Under Successional Montane Oak Forests in Chiapas, Mexico -- Population Structures of Two Understory Plant Species Along an Altitudinal Gradient in Costa Rican Montane Oak Forests -- Ecosystem Disturbance and Regeneration -- Secondary Succession in Montane Pine-Oak Forests of Chiapas, Mexico -- Changes in Diversity and Structure Along a Successional Gradient in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest -- Regeneration Dynamics in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest After Reduced-Impact Logging -- Growth and Physiological Responses of Oak, Pine and Shrub Seedlings to Edge Gradients in a Fragmented Mexican Montane Oak Forest -- Morphological Variations of Gall-Forming Insects on Different Species of Oaks (Quercus) in Mexico -- Above-Ground Water and Nutrient Fluxes in Three Successional Stages of Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest with Contrasting Epiphyte Abundance -- Changes in Fine Root System Size and Structure During Secondary Succession in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest -- Soil Seed Bank Changes Along a Forest Interior-Edge-Pasture Gradient in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest -- Frugivorous Birds, Habitat Preference and Seed Dispersal in a Fragmented Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest Landscape -- Diet and Habitat Preference of the Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno costaricensis) in Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest -- Small Terrestrial Rodents in Disturbed and Old-Growth Montane Oak Forest in Costa Rica -- Habitat Preference, Feeding Habits and Conservation of Baird’s Tapir in Neotropical Montane Oak Forests -- Conservation and Sustainable Use -- Dynamics and Silviculture of Montane Mixed Oak Forests in Western Mexico -- Vascular Epiphytes and Their Potential as a Conservation Tool in Pine-Oak Forests of Chiapas, Mexico -- Land Use, Ethnobotany and Conservation in Costa Rican Montane Oak Forests -- Charcoal Production in a Costa Rican Montane Oak Forest -- Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Management of Central American Montane Oak Forests -- Economic Valuation of Water Supply as a Key Environmental Service Provided by Montane Oak Forest Watershed Areas in Costa Rica -- Synthesis -- Neotropical Montane Oak Forests: Overview and Outlook.

This comprehensive synthesis systematically covers the entire range of natural and managed oak forests in the highlands of tropical America. Originally, these forests were widely distributed, but largely through human impact large parts have disappeared and the remaining patches are under increasing threat. For the first time, aspects as diverse as the paleo-ecology, biogeography, stand structure and composition, biodiversity, population dynamics, ecosystem dynamics, fragmentation and recovery, conservation and sustainable use of Neotropical montane oak forests are treated in a coherent manner. Providing a thorough understanding of ecological patterns and processes that determine the structure and functioning of these magnificent forests, this volume can serve as a sound basis for sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation in general.