The Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) Bibliography describes publications (journal articles, theses, chapters in books, books, etc.) which have been produced in relation to the Forest Dynamics Plot network of CTFS. CTFS coordinates a network of standardized, long-term, large-scale forest monitoring plots known as “Forest Dynamics Plots”, in which all trees greater than 1 cm at diameter breast height are measured, tagged, identified, and monitored through time over a large area (typically 50 ha). As of 2005, the CTFS network includes 18 Forest Dynamics Plots in 15 countries and is currently monitoring about 3 million trees of 6000 species. Since the first Forest Dynamics Plot was initiated in 1980 at the Smithsonian facilities in Panama, scientific organizations around the world have established identical Forest Dynamics Plots throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In 1990, the Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS) was officially established within the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) to coordinate this growing network of standardized forest monitoring plots.

The CTFS network functions through a voluntary consortium of scientists, forestry agencies, universities, research institutes and non-governmental organizations around the world, each involved at one or more CTFS sites. At all CTFS sites, host-country institutions manage the plots and supervise the data. Currently, there are more than three dozen institutions and several hundred scientists actively involved in CTFS. The network has produced hundreds of publications by more than 200 different authors from about 30 different countries. The contributions and research of this network have consequently produced an enormous CTFS Bibliography which covers a wide variety of topics related to tropical forest ecology. The majority of the publications are in English but some are in Spanish and Portuguese. In order to make this the most complete bibliography of scientific work on tropical forest ecology, we have provided general keywords, taxonomic information when available, and geographic location.

As this catalog is an active project we solicit comments from users on corrections and additions to bibliographic entries. For reprints of specific articles, please contact the corresponding author, the STRI librarian, or the CTFS Program Assistant. The individuals responsible for maintaining the CTFS Bibliographic Catalog are the CTFS Director and the CTFS Program Assistant. For more information, provide comments, or submit articles to the CTFS Bibliography please contact: