The Paracou Research Station encompasses 5000 ha of tropical rain forest near Sinnamary, French Guiana, and is accessible by paved road. The site includes several types of forest plots, each with unique research objectives. Logging Plots: Fifteen nine-hectare plots (numberred 1 to 15) were established in 1984 to study the impact of different logging treatments on tropical tree population structure. This zone is reserved exclusively for studies investigating the impact of the different logging treatments on forest populations. Primary Forest Plot: A 25 hectare plot (no. 16) was established in 1991 for studies of undisturbed forest. Researchers whose interests are unrelated to the effects of logging treatments are encouraged to conduct their work in this plot. Clearcut Plot: a 6.25 ha plot (no. 17) was established in 1989 at a nearby reserve along the road to St. Elie to study the effects of clearcutting on tropical forest dynamics

The site comprises three distincts experimental set-ups: (1) a long-term (>10 years) partial throughfall exclusion experiment replicated three times and crossed with a thinning (-30% basal area) experiment aimed at simulating long-term precipitation decrease in accordance with climate change scenario for the Mediterranean area (-30% of precipitation), (2) a total rainfall exclusion experiment using a mobile roof has been set up to simulate extreme drought events and modify precipitation seasonality, and (3) an eddy-covariance flux tower running continuously since 2001 to measure seasonal variations in ecosystem functioning and year-to-year flux responses to drought and climate.