Following the influential Brundtland Report, environmental preservation, social welfare and economic growth ceased to be seen as opposite objectives, but rather, were considered as pillars of what came to be known as ‘sustainable development’ (WCED, 1987). In order to realise this vision, different multilateral agreements have highlighted the importance of developing institutional frameworks able to tackle environmental issues on a global scale (United Nations, 1992; UNEP, 2011). Nevertheless, despite advances relating to the creation of formal agreements, only a few achievements have been associated with the implementation of environmental institutional frameworks (Zanchetta et al., 2011).
Effects of partial throughfall exclusion on the phenology of Coussarea racemosa (Rubiaceae) in an east-central Amazon rainforest
Effects of partial throughfall exclusion on the phenology of Coussarea racemosa (Rubiaceae) in an east-central Amazon rainforest
Severe droughts may alter the reproductive phenology of tropical tree species, but our understanding of these effects has been hampered by confounded variation in drought, light and other factors during natural drought events. We used a large-scale experimental reduction of throughfall in an easterncentral Amazon forest to study the phenological response to drought of an abundant subcanopy tree, Coussarea racemosa. We hypothesized that drought would alter the production and the timing of reproduction, as well as the number of viable fruits.