The stability of tropical rainforest margins, linking ecological, economic and social constraints of land use and conservation - an introduction -- The stability of tropical rainforest margins, linking ecological, economic and social constraints of land use and conservation - an introduction -- Ecosystem decay of Amazonian forest fragments: implications for conservation -- Ecosystem decay of Amazonian forest fragments: implications for conservation -- Moths at tropical forest margins - how mega-diverse insect assemblages respond to forest disturbance and recovery -- Moths at tropical forest margins - how mega-diverse insect assemblages respond to forest disturbance and recovery -- Amphibian communities in disturbed forests: lessons from the Neo- and Afrotropics -- Amphibian communities in disturbed forests: lessons from the Neo- and Afrotropics -- Fine root mass, distribution and regeneration in disturbed primary forests and secondary forests of the moist tropics -- Fine root mass, distribution and regeneration in disturbed primary forests and secondary forests of the moist tropics -- Surface soil organic carbon pools, mineralization and CO2 efflux rates under different land-use types in Central Panama -- Surface soil organic carbon pools, mineralization and CO2 efflux rates under different land-use types in Central Panama -- Forest structure as influenced by different types of community forestry in a lower montane rainforest of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia -- Forest structure as influenced by different types of community forestry in a lower montane rainforest of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia -- Impact of forest disturbance and land use change on soil and litter arthropod assemblages in tropical rainforest margins -- Impact of forest disturbance and land use change on soil and litter arthropod assemblages in tropical rainforest margins -- From ecological to political buffer zone: ethnic politics and forest encroachment in Upland Central Sulawesi -- From ecological to political buffer zone: ethnic politics and forest encroachment in Upland Central Sulawesi -- Assessing economic preferences for biological diversity and ecosystem services at the Central Sulawesi rainforest margin - a choice experiment approach -- Assessing economic preferences for biological diversity and ecosystem services at the Central Sulawesi rainforest margin - a choice experiment approach -- Forest Products and Household Incomes: Evidence from Rural Households Living in the Rainforest Margins of Central Sulawesi -- Forest Products and Household Incomes: Evidence from Rural Households Living in the Rainforest Margins of Central Sulawesi -- Sustainable management of agroforestry systems -- Shaded coffee and the stability of rainforest margins in northern Latin America -- Economic evaluation of ecosystem services as a basis for stabilizing rainforest margins? The example of pollination services and pest management in coffee landscapes -- Insect diversity responses to forest conversion and agroforestry management -- Plant diversity in homegardens in a socio-economic and agro-ecological context -- Tree species diversity relative to human land uses in tropical rain forest margins in Central Sulawesi -- Alternatives to slash-and-burn in forest-based fallow systems of the eastern Brazilian Amazon region: Technology and policy options to halt ecological degradation and improve rural welfare -- Protected Area Management and Local Benefits - A case study from Madagascar -- Integrated concepts of land use in tropical forest margins -- Potentials to reduce deforestation by enhancing the technical efficiency of crop production in forest margin areas -- Migration and ethnicity as cultural impact factors on land use change in the rainforest margins of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia -- From global to regional scale: Remote sensing-based concepts and methods for mapping land-cover and land-cover change in tropical regions -- Effects of land-use change on matter and energy exchange between ecosystems in the rain forest margin and the atmosphere -- Science and technology and sustainable development in Brazilian Amazon. William F. Laurance summarizes key ?ndings of the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in Amazonia, the world's largest and longe- running experimental study on habitat fragmentation. Edge e?ects play a key role in fragment dynamics and the surrounding matrix has a major in?uence on fragment connectivity and functioning. Many Amazonian species avoid even small clearings. Konrad Fiedler et al. focus on tropical forest moths and their response to forest disturbance and recovery. Using large data sets from Borneo and Ecuador, they found strong responses of species composition to disturbance, butnotalwaysofspeciesdiversity.Beta,ratherthanalpha,diversityappeared to be meaningful to assess land use impacts. Ra?aelErnstetal.presentresultsonamphibiancommunitiesindisturbed forests of the Neo- and Afrotropics. Patterns in community composition, and hence beta diversity, is a key in understanding impacts of human disturbance. These authors argue that alterations in the functional diversity of amphibians are a good predictor of habitat change. Dietrich Hertel et al. address the e?ects of forest use and forest conv- sion on the below-ground compartment in the wet tropical forests of Sulawesi (Indonesia). The authors review the response of ?ne root biomass to forest disturbance intensity and interpret results with respect to carbon storage in the root system. Luitgard Schwendenmann et al. present data on how forest conversion a?ects soil carbon pools, carbon mineralization rates and soil respiration in Central Panama. The active soil organic carbon pool was found to be a s- sitive indicator of soil respiration and may indicate land-use changes.