Enhancement of Forest Canopy Research, Education, and Conservation in the New Millennium

Plant Ecology 153: 361-367,2001. O 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlunds. Enhancement of forest canopy research, education, and conservation in the new millennium Nalini M. Nadkarni The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA 98505, USA (e-mail: [email protected]) Key words: Conservation, Forest Canopy, Graduate Study, Rain forests Abstract Study of the forest canopy has reached a critical stage in its development from a young 'frontier' area of study to a vibrant and coalescing field of investigation and communication. Many current environmental and social issues at global scales (e.g., environmental change, acid deposition, loss of biodiversity) are related directly to our knowledge of forest canopies. I present six activities that are needed to help the vibrant and growing field of forest canopy studies progress efficiently. Enabling canopy researchers to communicate with each other and with those outside our field is an important element to address these issues. The establishment of a graduate-level training program is also a high priority to generate and maintain a healthy discipline. Formal procedures to identify particular forest sites of critical concern should be initiated, and these should include communication of prioritized sites to conservation groups and policy makers. Instilling a sense of wonder and appreciation for organisms and interactions in non-scientists is another important avenue for forest canopy conservation. Introduction (Lugo & Scatena 1992; Benzing 1998). The bulk of the photosynthetic machinery of the biosphere is lo- The forest canopy has been termed 'the last biotic cated within forest canopies, so understanding their frontier', and is one of the richest but most poorly physiology and interactions has tremendous impor- studied habitats in the biosphere (Lowman & Nad- tance on issues relating to global carbon budgets and karni 1995). Canopy study is becoming a data-rich global environmental change. discipline that bears on many fields of science and Studies from multiple scientific disciplines consti- environmental issues. Canopy-dwelling plants (epi- tute the field of canopy research: e.g., forest ecology, phytes) constitute up to half the total plant diversity of meteorology, zoology, geography, and conservation some wet tropical forests and provide crucial resources biology. Recent technological applications for access for a host of arboreal birds and mammals (Nadkarni to the canopy such as the 'canopy raft' and the canopy & Matelson 1988). Recent research from numerous crane, have allowed researchers to record and in- tropical and temperate canopies document that canopy terpret larger amounts of meaningful canopy data. invertebrates exhibit a tremendous amount of diversity > In the last decade, a burgeoning of scientific and and 'endemism' in the canopy (Winchester 1993; Bas- popular interest in the canopy has occurred (Parker set 1993; Stork et al. 1997; Fagan & Winchester 1997). et al. 1992; Nadkarni & Lowman 1995). Interdis- Canopy structural elements such as foliage and twigs ciplinary research groups are just now coalescing to account for a tremendous 'sieving' effect of fog in approach canopy questions from new and different some forests, causing wind-borne precipitation and its spatial scales. Heightened public interest in biodiver- accompanying nutrients and pollutants to be deposited sity, global climate change, and tropical deforestation locally (Coxson & Nadkarni 1995). Because canopy has generated books, symposia, popular articles, and organisms dwell at the atmosphere-forest interface, films about the canopy. they can serve as indicator organisms to monitor changes in global climate and atmospheric conditions Both the types and amounts of canopy structure tiple researchers who address process-oriented ques- data are changing rapidly. In the past, scientists work- tions to explain the observed patterns. A sign of ing alone with simple rope-climbing techniques gen- maturity for a field is when its scientists can validate erated studies that produced fairly small data sets. predictive models and relate findings to those of other However, recent access innovations permit multiple fields. At that stage, scientists can respond to the 'what teams of scientists to work within the same volume if' questions about pressing societal concerns posed of the canopy. Canopy scientists have to deal with by policy-makers (Figure 1). more data, new kinds of data, and the need to share At the turn of the 20th century, canopy science is data. Data collected by canopy research teams will be at an early stage of development. It has been charac- useful to other scientists (e.g., geographers, land use terized by isolation of researchers, lack of harmonized managers), just as data emanating from allied fields methods, and the perception that questions addressed could aid forest canopy researchers. are 'obscure'. In the last decade, however, canopy Historically, canopy scientists have been notori- studies have developed rapidly due to six activities: ous for independent ways of taking, storing, analyzing data and communicating their results in ways that are 1. establishment of formal and informal networks not conducive to comparative studies. As a first step to within and outside canopy research (e.g., the increase the capacity of canopy researchers to improve International Canopy Network (Nadkarni et al. this situation, my colleagues and I carried out a survey 1997), the European Science Foundation's Trop- of canopy researchers (Nadkarni & Parker 1994; Stork ical Canopy Research Programme); & Best 1994) to identify the major obstacles impeding 2. growing realization that canopy studies yield im- forest canopy research. The surveys indicated that the portant insights into issues of global environmental field is developing rapidly but is fragmented, due to issues such as climate change, maintenance of bio- the multidisciplinary nature of the field and the histor- diversity, and the creation of sustainable forest ically isolated nature of the researchers. Three major management practices; obstacles were identified: dearth of communication 3. a growing information base from which to draw networks among canopy researchers, lack of formal theory and synthetic works, training for future canopy researchers, and problems 4. increased use of experimental approaches to re- with data management. More specifically, the latter search; obstacle involved the lack of uniformity in collect- 5. active collaborations among canopy scientists and ing, processing, and analyzing canopy data, the dearth database and informatics scientists to better visu- of data archives, and the inability to link data for alize, process, and archive canopy datasets; comparative research. 6. heightened awareness of the general public to the In this paper, I outline the dynamics of the field excitement and importance of canopy studies due as it has developed and discuss six ways in which to efforts of educators and media attention. canopy researchers might make the pathway of development of this emerging field more efficient and Recommendations for enhancement of forest useful to themselves, science, and society. I place the canopy activities development of training programs, tools for analysis, and pathways of communication for canopy scientists Canopy researchers should take advantage of these in the context of other emerging and interdisciplinary growth-promoting elements to further their own field, scientific fields. enhance other fields of science, and contribute to environmental issues facing our society. I propose and describe six actions that will address these obstacles Progression of development of scientific fields and and enhance the role of canopy studies in global and canopy studies political realms. Scientific fields go through stages of maturity, as do 1. Strengthen formal and informal communication societies, people, and plants. A scientific field in its networks within canopy studies and to alliedjelds infancy is typified by descriptive studies by individual scientists who identify phenomena and document pat- In response to the 1994 canopy survey, which iden- terns. As a field matures, investigations involve mul- tified lack of communication networks as a major Stage Types of Data Logistics Studies Characteristics YOUNG Descriptive Few datasets, Personal, individual ? individually communication f designed X iI 3 Technological tools B Informal networks %- z' Process- Use of database Formal MATURING oriented models & communications g technology rP. I Courses 2 Graduate programs 2 1 g I ' Predictive Linked, harmonized, Jointly funded knowledge base programs with connectivity to many datasets i -urn'I Figure 1. Costs and benefits of database development and use by different scales and approaches of scientific projects. See text for explanation of categories. obstacle to canopy studies, The International Canopy that trains them in a variety of disciplines, effec- Network (ICAN) organization was created in 1994 tively crosses disciplines, and provides contact with to facilitate communication among individuals and the worldwide community of canopy scientists. Be- institutions concerned with research, education, and cause of the relative youth of canopy studies, canopy conservation of organisms in tree crowns and forest researchers are often isolated in their institutions. This canopies. Core activities of ICAN include mainte- contrasts to colleagues in more established disciplines nance of an electronic

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