TROPIS, the Tree Growth and Permanent Plot Information System sponsored by Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), seeks to help forest scientists make better use of existing tree growth information by:
1. Supporting a network of people willing to share permanent plot data and tree growth information through a variety of ways, including the sources hosted at this site (newsletters, links, etc.);2. Maintaining a searchable index of people and institutions holding permanent plot data in both plantations and natural forests;
3. Making a database management system available to promote more efficient management of permanent plot data (Mirasilv, developed by CATIE) (Ugalde 1999);
4. Providing a way to identify comparable sites in other regions, allowing data from elsewhere to be used when no local growth information exists (under development, more information), and
5. Offering access to an inference system to allow growth estimates to be made in the absence of empirical data (Plantgro and Infer).
