<P> The Center for Tropical Forest Science, or CTFS, is a consortium of forest researchers who pursue long - term research on tree populations using comparable census method . The work developed out of a study of 50 hectares of forest on Barro Colorado Island in Panama begun in 1981 . All individual trees larger than 1 centimeter in stem diameter were measured, mapped, and identified, which included 300 different species . This census has been repeated every five years since, most recently in 2010 . </P> <P> A total of 30 research institutions have now carried out parallel censuses of large forest plots . There are four such large - scale census projects in Africa, nine in Latin America, and 25 in Asia . Moreover, the census program has been expanded to include temperate and subtropical forests in China . Approximately 4.5 million individual trees of 8500 species are being monitored . Numerous scientific research reports on tree species diversity, distribution, life span, and growth rates have been published based on these plots . </P>

What is the function of the center for tropical forest science (ctfs)