Rare, unique and irreplaceable – precious native rainforests occupy a precariously small part of Australia while retaining a remarkable level of both biological and chemical diversity unrivalled by any other ecosystem. Australia's ancient history and traditions are intimately intertwined with the rainforest plants that humans have utilised as both food and medicine. Phytochemistry of Australia's Tropical Rainforest is a record of this history and details how our understanding of these plants has led to the discovery of anaesthetics, analgesics, steroids, antimalarials and more. It provides an insight into the habitat, ecology and family associations of hundreds of species and explores their future therapeutic potential, alongside phytochemical studies of the ancient plant lineages. Toxicological evaluations of important poisonous plants are also included. Rainforests provide shelter for unique flora and fauna that are counted among the rarest species on Earth, many of which are illustrated in this book. This comprehensive work is an essential reference for phytochemists, ethnobotanists and those with an interest in rainforests and their medicinal and botanical potential.

Based on contributions to a symposium at the 57th ANZAAS congress in 1987, this book describes and interprets the evolution, biology and dynamics of Australia's northern rainforests from scientific, humanistic and eco-political viewpoints. Includes references and an index.

Synthesizing theoretical & empirical analyses of the processes that help shape these unique ecosystems, 'Tropical Rainforests' looks at the effects of evolutionary histories, past climate change, & ecological dynamics on the origin & maintenance of tropical rainforest communities.

Publisher Description

This book brings together a wealth of scientific findings andecological knowledge to survey what we have learned about the“Wet Tropics” rainforests of North Queensland,Australia. This interdisciplinary text is the first book to providesuch a holistic view of any tropical forest environment, includingthe social and economic dimensions. The most thorough assessment of a tropical forest landscape todate Explores significant scientific breakthroughs in areasincluding conservation genetics, vegetation modeling, agroforestryand revegetation techniques, biodiversity assessment and modeling,impacts of climate change, and the integration of science innatural resource management Research achieved, in part, due to the Cooperative ResearchCentre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management (theRainforest CRC) Written by a number of distinguished internationalexperts contains chapter summaries and section commentaries

An overview of the pollination in Australian rainforests, especially subtropical rainforests. It also examines the plant-pollinator relationships found in rainforests worldwide.

This book is intended to be a record of the Biotechnology-Assisted Re/Afforestation Project in the Asia-Pacific Region (BIO-REFOR) since 1992, conducted in coop eration with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (lUFRO). The purpose of the project is to promote exchanges of information of fundamental research on indigenous species in the Asia-Pacific Region in order to restore natural forests. The production, cultivation, and maintenance of forest tree species provide highly sustainable production systems that conserve soils, the microenvironment, and biodiversity The key technology for biomass production of forests is propagation via micropropagation or traditional propagation. However, there are many recalci trant species among useful forest trees to be propagated in large numbers. Recent advances in mycorrhizal technology and in vitro culture have made it possible to commercially propagate useful trees for re/afforestation. In this book, comprehensive information is provided on propagation, mycor rhizal inoculation, and reforestation of economically and environmentally impor tant forest trees, information that usually is available only in widely scattered re sources. Here, we include a wide area of the ecology and physiology of dipterocarps as a general overview, and then cover propagation techniques, mycorrhizal symbio sis, man-made forests, and biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific region.

The diversity of Australia's tropical rain forest flora is captured on this CD-ROM which provides a wide range of users with an easy-to-use tool for identifying 1800 trees and shrubs. The dataset is accessed via an interactive identification system and images and leaf X-rays are featured.

A Sherlock Holmes mystery.