Kátia F. Rito

1 Introduction Tropical forests are considered a key component of global biodiversity, providing important ecosystem functions and services (e.g., climate regulation and carbon stocks) including those of local importance such as the provision of forest products for the subsistence of rural populations (Bonan 2008; Houghton et al. 2015; Malhi 2012). Millions of people live and depend on forests and their products, such as firewood, charcoal, fodder, timber, and medicinal plants (Larson et al. 2010).