Tropical Montane Forests in a Changing Environment

This Research Topic aims to contribute to the current knowledge on the complex dynamics of tropical montane forests, expanding our understanding of these highly specialized ecosystems. There has been significant new research in the past decades providing new perspectives on the functional aspects of these ecosystems ranging from the plant ecology and ecophysiology through plant-animal interactions and to the soil microbiome. The environmental gradients features of montane forests can provide valuable insights into the ecosystem functioning and the community interactions in response to long-term variation in environmental conditions.

All types of articles are welcome, particularly those covering the following aspects:
- How variation in species composition, functional traits and forest structure shape key ecosystem properties such as primary productivity or carbon and nutrient cycling.
- The soil microbiome of montane forests and its contribution to ecosystem function.
- Morphological and physiological adaptations of plants to altitude and cloud forest environments.
- Insights into how temperature plays a role in shaping ecosystem functions.
- The interaction between plant traits and ecosystem function.
- Plant-animal interactions in tropical montane cloud forests.
- Animal ecology and distributions in tropical montane cloud forest environments.
- Atmospheric, biotic and human impacts in tropical montane forest.

Research Topic image design by Valeria Salinas (Freelance Artist).