The Ecology of Tropical Wood

Wood serves for mechanical support, it transports and can store water and nutrients, and contributes to the defense of trees. These functions are reflected in the anatomical structure and the chemical composition of wood. The variation in wood traits among hundreds of species on BCI in combination with a large body of other data on these species have advanced our understanding for the significance of wood variation and ecological strategies of trees. For instance, variation in wood is related to demographic rates from growth to mortality and to physiological traits, such as hydraulic conductance and drought resistance. For the ecosystem, wood represents the bulk of forest biomass, and as such, it is an important carbon sink as well as a carbon and energy source for decomposers. The chapter points to open questions on the ecology of wood that could be addressed on BCI.