Methods in Forest Canopy Research - by Margaret D Lowman & Timothy Schowalter & Jerry Franklin (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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 canopy--essential tools for for understanding our changing world.

From the Back Cover

"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."--Thomas E. Lovejoy, George Mason University and The Heinz Center

"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."--M. Soubadra Devy, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)

Review Quotes

"A comprehensive overview of developments for explorers of canopy environments."-- "Nature Research Center - Newsletter" (10/1/2012 12:00:00 AM)

"A highly readable account of the frontiers of biological discovery. . . . It will make you look up at the trees with fresh wonder."--Markus Eichhorn "Frontiers of Biogeography" (5/1/2013 12:00:00 AM)

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.