This book examines one of the most important and complex of the world's tropical rainforest regions: the greater Panama Canal Watershed. The Rio Chagres is the primary water source for operating the Canal, and supplies potable water for municipal use and electricity generation, but science has left this important national resource largely unstudied. The text promotes understanding of the physical and ecological components of an isolated and largely pristine tropical rainforest.

Multidisciplinary nature

Setting the Scene.- A Geographic Overview of Panama.- An Introduction to the Panama Canal Watershed.- Light and Shadows in the Management of the Panama Canal Watershed.- Geological Development of Panama.- The Upper Río Chagres Basin.- Igneous Geology and Geochemistry of the Upper Río Chagres Basin.- GIS-Based Stream Network Analysis for the Upper Río Chagres Basin, Panama.- Soils of the Upper Río Chagres Basin, Panama.- Hydrology of Hillslope Soils in the Upper Río Chagres Watershed, Panama.- Infiltration in the Upper Río Chagres Basin, Panama.- Runoff Production in the Upper Río Chagres Watershed, Panama.- Downstream Hydraulic Geometry along a Tropical Mountain River.- Bedrock Channel Incision along the Upper Río Chagres Basin, Panama.- Using TRMM to Explore Rainfall Variability in the Upper Río Chagres Catchment, Panama.- Tree Species Composition and Beta Diversity in the Upper Río Chagres Basin, Panama.- A Note on Amphibians and Reptiles in the Upper Río Chagres Basin, Panama.- The Regional Perspective.- High Spatial and Spectral Resolution Remote Sensing of Panama Canal Zone Watershed Forests.- Biogeographic History and the High Beta-Diversity of Rainforest Trees in Panama.- World Holdings of Avian Tissues from Panama.- Estimation of Landslide Importance in Hillslope Erosion Within the Panama Canal Watershed.- Long-Term Sediment Generation Rates for the Upper Río Chagres Basin.- Estimation of Regional Actual Evapotranspiration in the Panama Canal Watershed.- Operational Rainfall and Flow Forecasting for the Panama Canal Watershed.- Projected Land-Use Change for the Eastern Panama Canal Watershed and Its Potential Impact.