Predicting the potential distribution of rain‐forest structural characteristics

Models are reviewed that predict the potential distribution of classes of rain‐forest structural characteristics in relation to indices of climate and soil parent material. A description is given of the field survey undertaken to examine these relations in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia. The predicted probabilities are compared with the observed values and the extent of correspondence between the two data sets examined. Environmental relations based on finer‐scaled landscape processes are proposed to explain the mismatches. An index of catchment hydrology is described that represents the most feasible additional independent variable for spatial extension purposes.