The book consists of various articles written by Mr. ter Steege and his co-authors on PhD research activities. The aim of the research was to describe spatial patterns in the rain forest of Guyana and test some hypotheses generated by previous studies on this subject. By increasing the knowledge of both temporal and spatial elements of the tropical rain forest in Guyana, the factors, which control the occurrence of canopy species, become apparent. Experiments were conducted on a few species to test the link between the environment and tree seedlings. In addition to discussing the temporal and spatial elements in general, the first chapters focus on the plasticity of Chlorocardium rediei (Greenheart) in relation to gaps and the plasticity of Mora gonggrijpii (Morabukea) with regard to soil types and light conditions. Mr. ter Steege also investigated the occurrence of Mora excelsa (Mora) and Mora gonggrijpii along a water gradient as well as aspects related to flood and drought tolerance or the two aforementioned Mora species.