The ecology of plants: from seed to seed

This chapter deals with the ecology of Tropical East Asia from a plant perspective. The life cycle of forest trees is covered in detail, including their vegetative and reproductive phenology, pollination, seed dispersal, seed predation, and the seedling, sapling, and adult stages. Other life forms, including lianas, ground herbs, epiphytes, hemi-epiphytes, and parasites are considered in less detail. Recent advances in plant community ecology are discussed, including the mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of species diversity in tropical forests (niche differentiation, growth–survival trade-offs, conspecific negative density-dependent mortality, neutral theory), and the influence of functional traits and phylogeny on community assembly. Forest succession is discussed in a regional context.