Introductory Chapter: On the Need to Teach, Conserve and Develop the Diversity of Tropical Forests

*Ana Cano Ortiz, Carmelo Maria Musarella and Eusebio Cano Carmona*

### **1. Introduction**

Tropical forests are located in one of the great biomes of the earth, in tropical and subtropical rainforests the average annual temperature ranges between 26 and 27°C, with thermal oscillations below 2°C. The precipitation, in general, is high, between 2000 and 4000 mm; however, there are shaded areas in which the precipitation is very low, being able to reach 200–300 mm. From the bioclimatic point of view, there is a dominance of the infra, thermo and mesotropical thermotypes. However, the rainy macrobioclimate of a pluvial nature becomes pluviseasonal due to the drop in temperature with altitude. For this reason, tropical environments are rainy in their basal zones and rainy seasons in the mountains. All these conditions, on the one hand, the broadleaf forest or rain forest and the semi-deciduous dry forest, as occurs on the Pacific coast of Mexico and in areas of Caribbean islands [1–5]. The high variability of ecological factors is the cause of the presence of interesting plant formations that present a high rate of endemism. Being areas of interest for conservation because they are hot spots on the planet, which must be studied, known and defended, both with regard to conservation and exploitation [6]. Thus in the tropical and subtropical areas, the pluvisilva forests are surrounded by laurisilva, and towards the central zones of the continents and shady zones [7] the savannahs in which grasses dominate are the centers of origin of this botanical family (Gramineae).

Tropical areas are of great interest worldwide, since they are CO2 sinks, so in the face of global climate change, large areas of vegetation are needed to act as CO2 sinks [8–13]. In addition, tropical forests have a high floristic diversity and a high rate of endemic species, being hot spots on the planet, which is why researchers present related works on tropical biomes.

### **2. Results and discussion**

Due to the low purchasing power of the populations residing in the tropics, an increase in their per capita income is necessary. In a comparative analysis of per capita income between developed and poor countries according to the World Bank [14] (**Table 1**), high discrimination is observed with values ranging between USD 460 and 6000 for poor countries in Africa, Central America and Asian areas. However, the


*Introductory Chapter: On the Need to Teach, Conserve and Develop the Diversity of Tropical… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111619*


#### *Tropical Forests - Ecology, Diversity and Conservation Status*


#### **Table 1.**

*Data on per capita income in dollars was obtained from World Bank.*

developed countries that cause climate change have per capita incomes above USD 20,000, even reaching values above USD 200,000.

This wealth of developed countries based on a powerful industrial sector, due to the use of polluting energy (petroleum) and the cause of climate change, is a reason for all countries to abandon the current production model, and bet on a sustainable balanced development, combining productivity and conservation, so it is necessary to bet on ecosystem services [15–18].

Because in the tropics there are countries with low per capita income and a deficient educational and research system, it is essential to promote research, through which balanced development is achieved, conserving and exploiting at the same time. Exploitation and development are not mutually exclusive, it is only necessary to know the natural resources, their ecology, function, structure and state of conservation, to advocate said sustainable development. To be successful in the sustainable development model, education and research must be promoted, for which various teaching methodologies can be used [19–26].

The high diversity of plant species in tropical and subtropical areas, with a high rate of endemic plants, is reason enough for governments to establish conservation measures while advocating for sustainable development. For this, research must be based on knowledge of the flora and vegetation, as well as on the socioeconomic development model, especially with regard to the type of agriculture, since this, together with deforestation and fires, tend to be the causes of species loss.

*Introductory Chapter: On the Need to Teach, Conserve and Develop the Diversity of Tropical… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.111619*
