Margaret Lowman

Spatial and Temporal Variability in Defoliation of Australian Eucalypts

Insect defoliation is commonly associated with and assumed to be a cause of mortality in Australian eucalypts, particularly in rural regions where trees suffer from the eucalypt dieback syndrome. To test this, leaf growth and defoliation were measured in the canopies of Eucalpyptus trees from June 1982 to June 1986, and related to tree health and eucalypt dieback. Over 5000 leaves were monitored, including replicates of branches, canopy heights, individual trees, species, and sites. Three types of sites were selected, representing the most common conditions in the eastern Australian tablelands: woodlands (comprised of healthy trees but with slight signs of dieback), healthy trees in pastures, and dying trees in pastures. Within each site the commonest native tree species were selected for study; species were not always the same between adjacent sites because of interspe_kw canopy See full-text article at JSTOR

Herbivory in Australian Rain Forests, with Particular Reference to the Canopies of Doryphora sassafras (Monimiaceae)

Herbivory in the canopies of Australian rain forest trees was measured from 1979-1988, and their associated leaf growth dynamics quantified. Levels of defoliation were compared on several spatial scales: within and among canopies of one species (Doryphora sassafras Endl.) (Monimiaceae), between species, and among sites, light, and height. Sassafras was distributed throughout all rain forest formations in New South Wales, from the upper elevation cool temperate sites to the warm temperate and lowland subtropical sites. In addition, two methods of measuring herbivory were compared. One method (long-term observations) measured losses up to four times greater than estimates obtained by the second and more conventional technique of harvesting leaves to measure missing surface areas (discrete sampling). Leaf area losses in Australian rain forests averaged between 14.6 percent and 27 percent, ranging from 3.3 percent to 41 percent with species and site. The factors contributing to this variability within Australian forests and compared to studies elsewhere are discussed.

Forest canopy studies as an emerging field of science

Scientific fields go through stages of maturity, as do plants, people, and societies. A scientific field in its infancy is typified by descriptive studies by individual scientists who identify phenomena and document patterns. As a field matures, investigations involve multiple researchers who address process-oriented questions to explain the observed patterns. A sign of maturity for a field is when its scientists can validate predictive models and relate findings to those of other fields (Lodahl and Gordon 1972). Studies of the forest canopy—“the aggregate of all crowns in a stand of vegetation” (Parker 1995)—constitute a scientific field that has passed through some of these stages with remarkable speed, but has not yet attained all of the attributes of full maturity. Thirty years ago, the canopy was considered an insignificant part of the forest ecosystems with little scientific attention beyond a few taxonomists specializing in arboreal biota. The development of three technological innovations coincided with the subsequent rapid growth of canopy studies: (1) mountainclimbing methods, fogging techniques, and construction equipment to facilitate access (Erwin 1982; Moffett and Lowman 1995); (2) easy-to-use equipment for making whole canopy measurements of material and energy exchanges with the atmosphere (Baldocchi et al. 1988), and (3) methods to measure the structure of whole canopies (e.g., LIDAR, Gonzalez et al. 2010). Canopy studies relate to the field of forest ecology, and related fields: e.g., atmospheric sciences, entomology, vertebrate biology, and soil science. A growing literature and textbooks now document our expanding knowledge of the composition, structure, and function of canopy biota, and their responses to changes in environmental conditions (Lowman and Rinker 2004; Lowman and Moffett 1993; Lowman and Nadkarni 1995; Mulkey et al. 1996), including general review papers (Lowman 2009; Parker and Brown 2000) and reviews of specific topics, e.g., epiphytes (Benzing 1990), canopy insects (Basset et al. 2003), and tree physiology (Ryan 2002). Canopy symposia are convened at scientific meetings, and international canopy conferences are held every 4 years. Formal networks exist for communication among researchers. Effects of human activities on canopy biota have been documented at the global level, particularly for climate change and forest fragmentation (Nadkarni and Solano 2002; Ozanne et al. 2003). Canopy research has extended into the policy arena, on issues such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. This work has received increasing public interest, manifested in popular publications (e.g., Moffett 1993), and numerous media pieces. However, certain aspects to support a vigorous field of science have not yet been attained. A canopy resources website (“the Big Canopy Database”) was initiated in 1999, but support has been based on short-term funding (McIntosh et al. 2007). An attempt to create a journal Handling Editor: Erwin Dreyer

International citizen science: making the local global

The Earthwatch Institute is an international non-profit organization that works with scientists and scientific institutions to develop citizen-science-based research and environmental monitoring programs. Each year, Earthwatch supports close to 80 different projects in more than 30 countries and recruits over 3000 volunteers to aid scientists in collecting data. Participants recruited by Earthwatch seek to tap into their passion for learning about science by volunteering to act as assistants for authentic research projects.

Uniting church and science for conservation.

Humans have been cutting Ethiopian forests for fuel and agriculture for centuries ([ 1 ][1]). Only about 35,000 fragments remain in the northern highlands, ranging in size from 3 to 300 hectares. These fragments escaped deforestation because of their religious and spiritual importance; they are

STAND-LEVEL HERBIVORY IN AN OLD-GROWTH CONIFER FOREST CANOPY

Abstract Herbivory is an important ecological process in forest canopies but is difficult to measure, especially for whole stands. We used the Wind River Canopy Crane in Washington State to access 101 randomly-located sample points throughout the forest canopy. This provided a relatively quick and convenient way to estimate herbivory for a whole stand. The overall level of herbivory was estimated at 1.6% of leaf area. The distribution was strongly skewed to the lower canopy where broad-leafed species experienced higher levels of herbivory. Herbivory averaged 0.3% in conifers and 13.5% in broad-leafed species. Fully half of the sample points had no detectable herbivory. Herbivory in this old-growth conifer forest is among the lowest levels published for forests around the globe and may reflect the general levels of herbivory in temperate coniferous forests during nonoutbreak conditions. Our whole-stand estimate is the first attempt at measuring herbivory for an entire forest stand in the Pacific Northwest.

Add ecology to the pre-medical curriculum.

In their Letter “Competencies: A cure for pre-med curriculum” (11 November 2011, p. [760][1]), W. A. Anderson and colleagues endorse a proposed shift in pre-medical education toward core competencies. We believe that the specific competencies proposed by the Association of American Medical

The Biosphere 2 canopy access system

Abstract Access to the rainforest canopy of Biosphere 2 presented a unique challenge to design and build a fall arrestance system that would meet the needs of the ecological research community and ensure a high degree of safety for users. The system was based on technology typically used in canopy research in field settings, but differed due to the presence of the steel spaceframe that enclosed the mesocosms of Biosphere 2. This paper reports the design of a fall arrestance system that meets federal regulations for health and safety and an example of gas exchange data collected in the canopy of the Biosphere 2 rainforest. The preliminary results from leaf gas exchange measurements indicated distinct differences between understory and canopy plants, emphasizing the importance of access to the canopy for experimental research.

Sacred natural sites as mensurative fragmentation experiments in long-inhabited multifunctional landscapes

&NA; Well‐controlled landscape experiments have played key roles in advancing fragmentation science, but such experiments are costly and may not be possible in many ecosystems – including the long‐inhabited landscapes typical of many developing countries. In such contexts observational studies of pre‐existing forest patches may offer valuable insights, but these bring other challenges including the non‐random location of patches, the heterogeneous matrix between patches, and patch‐specific management practices that may influence forest community composition. This paper argues that sacred natural sites might provide a middle ground between experimental and observational studies, allowing for more rigorous mensurative fragmentation experiments in long‐inhabited multi‐functional landscapes. To illustrate this potential, we analyze the drivers of productivity in ‘church forests’ across northern Ethiopia. These forest patches conserved by followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox church provide ample variation in area, edge, and surrounding matrix characteristics. Church forests also provide variation in long‐term forest community composition, elevation and rainfall. Finally, unlike most observational studies, church forests offer a relatively stable institutional structure, including longstanding religious norms, allowing researchers to control for some heterogeneity in human influences. By combining remotely sensed data on church forest patches (n = 2558) with field data on church forest tree species composition (n = 27) and social survey data on church forest management practices (n = 145 respondents in 6 church communities) we show how ecological and anthropogenic factors influence church forest productivity. Like experimental patches, church forest productivity increases with size and decreases with amount of edge; productivity also increases with rainfall and increased tree species diversity within a given patch. But there is also evidence that church forest productivity and species composition are both affected by human management rooted in longstanding religious norms. Findings highlight how studies in sacred natural sites systems might help understand relationships between forest productivity, species diversity, and human management in long‐fragmented landscapes.

Fostering partnerships between regional government and ecology

© The Ecological Society of America www.frontiersinecology.org W boarded a Lear jet, and the co-pilot offered us champagne from a full bar as we settled into plush leather seats with expansive leg room. For a tropical biologist who expects to find no flush toilets at her field sites, I was overwhelmed. I was the token scientist for a special meeting with Florida’s Governor, Jeb Bush, flying to Tallahassee with a state senator, a college president, a county commissioner, and two lobbyists. After we landed, a waiting limousine whisked us to the capitol building, where we found ourselves in a boardroom exchanging jokes with the Governor. He claimed to remember me from a prior meeting to discuss ways to enhance Florida middle school science education with distance learning. Whereas biologists are great at bandying about Latin names of ants or plants, politicians become expert at matching human faces with names and party loyalties. I listened in awe as our state senator skillfully navigated the conversation. Like a captain steering a ship through a maze of reefs, he incorporated stories and “hooks” into the conversation, elegantly leading up to our funding request. I knew that I was learning from a pro about how to effectively communicate with regional government. At the end of the meeting, our message was delivered and the response was enthusiastic. We emerged after an hour with a pledge from the conservative Republican Governor to support our vision for a center of excellence to research best practices in land use and ecological management in subtropical Florida and beyond. In just one short meeting with a state policymaker, we made great strides forward, turning the dream of an integrative research center focusing on land use ecology, the Florida Land Institute (FLI), into a reality. During the meeting, we communicated one important message to the Governor: that our project would enhance the quality of life for his constituents. This was strengthened by linking effective land use to Florida’s economy. If Florida saves 1% of GSP (gross state product) from our FLI initiatives, over