Tropical and subtropical ecosystems are indispensable regulators of the global climate, acting as critical sinks for carbon and significant mediators of atmospheric moisture and energy fluxes. Despite their pivotal role, tropical mountain and island forest ecosystems present profound challenges to the atmospheric and environmental science community due to their inherent heterogeneity. The way the atmosphere, land, and living things interact here (bio-geo interactions) is incredibly complex. The complexities make it hard to measure things accurately, create good computer models, and make reliable future predictions. This challenge is a significant barrier to understanding global environmental change. This session invites abstracts that transcend conventional boundaries to address these complexities. Our goal is to connect researchers from diverse fields, such as atmospheric science, ecology, human geosciences, and remote sensing, to understand these critical ecosystems better. We especially welcome research focusing on how different processes are interconnected across these varied scales. Topics we are interested in include: new ways to study how the atmosphere and land interact; the effects of land use change (like deforestation) and species invasion; the water cycle and ecohydrology in tropical montane cloud forests; and the use of new technology, sensor networks, or data sets that can help us observe, model, and predict changes in these highly diverse mountain and island environments. Please join us to share your research and help us better understand the unique nature of the world's tropical high-elevation and island regions.

Tropical and subtropical ecosystems are indispensable regulators of the global climate, acting as critical sinks for carbon and significant mediators of atmospheric moisture and energy fluxes. Despite their pivotal role, tropical mountain and island forest ecosystems present profound challenges to the atmospheric and environmental science community due to their inherent heterogeneity. The way the atmosphere, land, and living things interact here (bio-geo interactions) is incredibly complex. The complexities make it hard to measure things accurately, create good computer models, and make reliable future predictions. This challenge is a significant barrier to understanding global environmental change. This session invites abstracts that transcend conventional boundaries to address these complexities. Our goal is to connect researchers from diverse fields, such as atmospheric science, ecology, human geosciences, and remote sensing, to understand these critical ecosystems better. We especially welcome research focusing on how different processes are interconnected across these varied scales. Topics we are interested in include: new ways to study how the atmosphere and land interact; the effects of land use change (like deforestation) and species invasion; the water cycle and ecohydrology in tropical montane cloud forests; and the use of new technology, sensor networks, or data sets that can help us observe, model, and predict changes in these highly diverse mountain and island environments. Please join us to share your research and help us better understand the unique nature of the world's tropical high-elevation and island regions.