I had a great experience recently collaborating with my post-doctoral advisor, Yadvinder Malhi, as well as Toby Gardner, Miles Silman and Przemek Zelazowski on a new review paper considering the effects of the Anthropocene on tropical forests. I will not go into the details of the review, other than to say that the primary focus is in identifying and exploring what human activities we expect to be the most critical for the future of tropical forest functioning. The paper is now available at the Annual Review of Environment and Resources.
As part of the paper, we consider what research has been done on anthropogenic impacts in tropical forests and where that research has been done. In fact, we studied a subset of the entire peer-reviewed literature carried out in tropical forests for the last five years. Here's what we came up with:
As part of the paper, we consider what research has been done on anthropogenic impacts in tropical forests and where that research has been done. In fact, we studied a subset of the entire peer-reviewed literature carried out in tropical forests for the last five years. Here's what we came up with:
The size of the circle indicates the number of studies carried out at the location. The big circle with all those studies is Smithsonian's Barro Colorado Island Research Station in Panama; the big embedded circle within it is the Organization for Tropical Studies' La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica. The number of research studies carried out there dwarfs any other place in the Tropics.
On the whole, the takeaway message is that there is a disproportionate amount of research in Mesoamerica relative to its size.
While many of us may be cognizant of this geographic bias, there has been no systematic effort (that I am aware of) to correct it. The advantages of research station infrastructure are obvious, as are the disadvantages of a knowledge base focused on such a small proportion of the Tropics. As a community, it may be time for a strategic plan for the future of tropical science. In the absence of such an approach, I fear that we'll never truly understand the impacts of the Anthropocene.
A high resolution version of the figure, the figure legend, and the underlying data are freely available. Of course, do read the paper for all the interpretation....and please send me an email if you have thoughts.
On the whole, the takeaway message is that there is a disproportionate amount of research in Mesoamerica relative to its size.
While many of us may be cognizant of this geographic bias, there has been no systematic effort (that I am aware of) to correct it. The advantages of research station infrastructure are obvious, as are the disadvantages of a knowledge base focused on such a small proportion of the Tropics. As a community, it may be time for a strategic plan for the future of tropical science. In the absence of such an approach, I fear that we'll never truly understand the impacts of the Anthropocene.
A high resolution version of the figure, the figure legend, and the underlying data are freely available. Of course, do read the paper for all the interpretation....and please send me an email if you have thoughts.
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