We seek to place modern ecosystem function into a broad context by observing changes in tropical ecosystems through time and space, with a specific focus on the alteration of land cover, climate feedbacks, and the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity. The type of research questions people within ELD are addressing include:

• How vulnerable are tropical landscapes to projected climate change?
• What was the impact of Quaternary glacial-interglacial climate cycles on tropical vegetation?
• How have human populations, past and present, shaped tropical biodiversity, carbon stocks, hydrology, and landscapes?
• Why are the tropics so biodiverse?