Annual cycles dominate reproductive phenology of African tropical trees

Phenological complementarity between plants and animals is crucial for ecosystem organisation. The paper presents the first cross continental comparison of the flowering and fruiting phenology of tropical forests across Africa. The research validates the 12-months flowering and fruiting frequencies of Afro-tropical forests. It reveals Afro-tropical forest trees show annual cycles, found in both temperate and other tropical forests in Central and South America, as well as South East Asia. The timing of cyclical biological events (phenophases) such as leafing, flowering and fruiting, is essential for the reproductive efforts of plants, and equally important for animals that rely on plant resources to survive and reproduce