Population dynamics--growth, movement and changes in composition and
characteristics--are among the many socioeconomic and institutional forces that are altering
the face of the earth. The effects of these forces on tropical deforestation have become a
major concern as pristine old-growth forests are converted to agricultural and other land
uses. The focus on tropical forests is well justified, given the roles they appear to play in
hydrological cycles and global climate change, and the high biodiversity they embody, with
as much as 50% of all the planet’s species living in them according to some estimates.
Concern about the fate of the forests is thus tied to the important global ecological services
they provide.