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| The Canopy |
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STUDY Little was known about this rich layer until relatively recently when scientists discovered efficient ways to study the canopy. However, even with modern techniques of study, many species, systems, and relationships of the canopy are still mysterious and much is still left to be discovered. Early attempts to study the canopy ranged from the ingenious to the bizarre. These included the felling of whole trees, shooting down branches with shotguns, hiring natives to climb trees, and firing ropes up into the trees for climbing. One scientist in Borneo even trained a monkey to climb into trees to bring down samples of epiphytes. The bits and pieces of collected canopy were examined and scientists tried to piece the canopy puzzle together. This process was extremely difficult—$$RHETT. SYMBOL AGAIN$$assembling a car without instructions, given just a toolbox, random sheet metal, and some nuts and bolts would probably be an easier endeavor. In the 1970s scientists began to use mountaineering techniques and ropes to access the canopy and platforms for long-term surveillance. This method was far more successful than any previous, but the area of observation was limited to a small area. In addition, the rope climbing was often dangerous, expensive, and had limited potential for eco-tourism. Today, elaborate methods of canopy exploration have been devised, of which some are clearly more practical and successful than others. In 1990 a balloon-raft was placed on top of the canopy in locations in West Africa and French Guiana. The scientists could access the canopy from above and observe as they sat on the raft. However, this method was expensive and possibly damaging to the forest. Another technique, utilizing a construction crane, is employed on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. Canopy walkways are gaining popularity in several rainforests both as a research tool and as a way to attract tourists. Other ways to explore the canopy include using ultra-lite planes, dirigible balloons, ski-lift-style trams, and remote-controlled pulley systems. Often these projects pay for themselves in the number of tourists that come to experience the walkway, but there is always a danger of over-use.
Update: Crane’s Eye View: Studying the rainforest canopy: A groundbreaking new project dedicated to studying rainforest canopies is about to enter the implementation stage in five tropical forests across the globe. The Global Canopy Programme, headed by Dr. Andrew Mitchell of Oxford University, consists of the placement of giant cranes in Brazil, Ghana, India, Madagascar and Malaysia. The cranes, outfitted with observation platforms and laboratories, will swing exploratory arms freely out over the top of the canopy with enough clearance to avoid disturbing the environment or its inhabitants. Review questions:
[full photo version] Continued: Rainforest Overstory Bibliographic citation for this page Other pages in this section:
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