SUMMARY

The research base for tropical forest management is solidifying rapidly but substantial weaknesses persist. To contribute to the maintenance of tropical forest, researchers need to emphasize the species for which these forests are being exploited and the processes upon which the continued productivity of these species depend. Too much research that is tangential to pressing management issues is carried out in the name of conservation and sustainable forest use. The capacity to conduct applied research in the tropical forest of the Americas also needs to be enhanced, and funds for problem-solving studies related to multiple-use management need to be made more readily available. In this paper some of the strengths and weaknesses in the knowledge base for natural forest management in the American tropics are outlined, starting with flower production and pollination and ranging through seed and seedling biology, tree growth, population biology, and harvesting problems. The carbon-offsetting potential of tropical forest management is presented as an example of how global concerns might provide incentives for improving management practices. Some reasons for the apparent weaknesses in the data base for tropical forestry are then suggested. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of three very different approaches to natural forest management used in Mexico, Suriname, and Peru