The first of two volumes documenting the latest findings on forest biodiversity, this book presents original, new contributions by some three hundred scientists from over forty countries. Researchers from the massive Smithsonian/MAB Biological Diversity Program cover the feasibility of using long-term inventory plots as a framework for monitoring multi-layer vegetation, socioeconomic applications of research results, and promotion of multidisciplinary research and training. The book is in five main sections covering first the methodology for forest monitoring and modeling and then the results of research from Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia/Pacific.