Synopses & Reviews
Poised between soil and sky, forest canopies represent a critical point of exchange between the atmosphere and the earth, yet until recently, they remained a largely unexplored frontier. For a long time, problems with access and the lack of tools and methods suitable for monitoring these complex bioscapes made canopy analysis extremely difficult. Fortunately, canopy research has advanced dramatically in recent decades. Methods in Forest Canopy Research is a comprehensive overview of these developments for explorers of this astonishing environment. The authors describe methods for reaching the canopy and the best ways to measure how the canopy, atmosphere, and forest floor interact. They address how to replicate experiments in challenging environments and lay the groundwork for creating standardized measurements in the canopyand#151;essential tools for for understanding our changing world.
Review
"A highly readable account of the frontiers ofand#160;biological discovery. . . . It will makeand#160;you look up at the trees with fresh wonder."
Review
"A comprehensive overview of developments for explorers of canopy environments."
Synopsis
The forest canopy is a largely unexplored scientific frontier whose potential for humankind has barely been scratched. Thousands of canopy species have never been described. Insights into the function and structure of forest ecosystems lurk in the branches of forest canopies. New medicines await discovery. Methods in Forest Canopy Research provides tools for explorers of this astonishing place poised between soil and sky. The authors reviewed methods of accessing the canopy, what to sample after you get there, how the biotic and abiotic conditions are different in canopy structure and function, and the best ways to determine how the canopy and forest floor interact.
Synopsis
and#147;Once nearly inaccessible frontiers, forest canopies are now giving up their secrets, thanks to a growing number of methods. This volume provides a superlative, long-needed recipe book for further exciting breakthroughs in canopy ecology. Indispensable.and#8221;--Thomas E. Lovejoy, George Mason University and The Heinz Center
and#147;Lowman, Schowalter, and Franklin draw on their significant hands-on experience to address important methodological questions in canopy research. Covering a range of case studies from around the globe, the authors engage ecological problems specific to the canopy and ingeniously deploy canopy research as a tool for forest conservation. Students, field biologists, and conservation planners around the world will find this book a one-stop shop for canopy methods.and#8221;--M. Soubadra Devy, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)
About the Author
Margaret D. Lowman is Director of the Nature Research Center at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and Research Professor at North Carolina State University.
Timothy Schowalter is Professor and Department Head in the Department of Entomology at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.
Jerry F. Franklin is Professor of Ecosystem Analysis in the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter 1. Setting the Stage and#150; Canopy Research Emerges as a Component of Forest Science
Chapter 2. Forest Types and Site Characteristics
Chapter 3. Canopy Access Methods: Making It Possible to Accurately and Safely Study the Upper Reaches of Forests
Chapter 4. Forest Structure and Sampling Units
Chapter 5. Canopy Conditions, Biota and Processes
Chapter 6. Canopy-Atmosphere Interactions
Chapter 7. Measuring Canopy-Forest Floor Interactions
Chapter 8. Treetops at Risk? Engaging the Canopy Toolkit in Whole-Forest Conservation
Chapter 9. Conclusions and Recommendations
References
Index