Frontiers in Forests and Global Change (Nov 2021)
Extending Our Scientific Reach in Arboreal Ecosystems for Research and Management
- Charles H. Cannon,
- Colby Borchetta,
- David L. Anderson,
- Gabriel Arellano,
- Martin Barker,
- Guillaume Charron,
- Jalene M. LaMontagne,
- Jeannine H. Richards,
- Ethan Abercrombie,
- Lindsay F. Banin,
- Ximena Tagle Casapia,
- Ximena Tagle Casapia,
- Xi Chen,
- Polina Degtjarenko,
- Jane E. Dell,
- David Durden,
- Juan Ernesto Guevara Andino,
- Rebeca Hernández-Gutiérrez,
- Andrew D. Hirons,
- Chai-Shian Kua,
- Hughes La Vigne,
- Maurice Leponce,
- Jun Ying Lim,
- Margaret Lowman,
- Andrew J. Marshall,
- Sean T. Michaletz,
- Benjamin B. Normark,
- Darin S. Penneys,
- Gerald F. Schneider,
- Joeri S. Strijk,
- Bashir B. Tiamiyu,
- Tara L. E. Trammell,
- Yalma L. Vargas-Rodriguez,
- Samantha R. Weintraub-Leff,
- Alexis Lussier Desbiens,
- Matthew Spenko
Affiliations
- Charles H. Cannon
- Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, United States
- Colby Borchetta
- Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, United States
- David L. Anderson
- Canopy Watch International, Boise, ID, United States
- Gabriel Arellano
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Martin Barker
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Guillaume Charron
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Jalene M. LaMontagne
- Department of Biological Sciences, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, United States
- Jeannine H. Richards
- Department of Biology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, United States
- Ethan Abercrombie
- Department of Biology, Washington University in Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO, United States
- Lindsay F. Banin
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Penicuik, United Kingdom
- Ximena Tagle Casapia
- 0Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonia Peruana (IIAP), Iquitos, Peru
- Ximena Tagle Casapia
- 1Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen University and Research, Wageningen, Netherlands
- Xi Chen
- 2School of Ecology and Environmental Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
- Polina Degtjarenko
- 3Department of Botany, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Jane E. Dell
- 4Geosciences and Natural Resources Department, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC, United States
- David Durden
- 5National Ecological Observatory Network, Battelle, Boulder, CO, United States
- Juan Ernesto Guevara Andino
- 6Grupo de Investigación en Biodiversidad, Medio Ambiente y Salud-BIOMAS- Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador
- Rebeca Hernández-Gutiérrez
- 7Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
- Andrew D. Hirons
- 8Myerscough College, Preston, United Kingdom
- Chai-Shian Kua
- Center for Tree Science, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, IL, United States
- Hughes La Vigne
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Maurice Leponce
- 9Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, and Evolutionary Biology, and Ecology and Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
- Jun Ying Lim
- 0Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Margaret Lowman
- 1TREE Foundation, Sarasota, FL, United States
- Andrew J. Marshall
- 2Department of Anthropology, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Program in the Environment, and School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Sean T. Michaletz
- 3Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research Centre, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Benjamin B. Normark
- 4Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
- Darin S. Penneys
- 5Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, United States
- Gerald F. Schneider
- 6Department of Biology, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States
- Joeri S. Strijk
- 7Institute for Biodiversity and Environmental Research, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link, Brunei
- Bashir B. Tiamiyu
- 8Department of Plant Biology, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria
- Tara L. E. Trammell
- 9Plant and Soil Sciences Department, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, United States
- Yalma L. Vargas-Rodriguez
- 0Universidad de Guadalajara, Centro Universitario de los Valles, Ameca, Mexico
- Samantha R. Weintraub-Leff
- 5National Ecological Observatory Network, Battelle, Boulder, CO, United States
- Alexis Lussier Desbiens
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
- Matthew Spenko
- 1Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering, Illinois Tech, Chicago, IL United States
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.712165
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 4
Abstract
The arboreal ecosystem is vitally important to global and local biogeochemical processes, the maintenance of biodiversity in natural systems, and human health in urban environments. The ability to collect samples, observations, and data to conduct meaningful scientific research is similarly vital. The primary methods and modes of access remain limited and difficult. In an online survey, canopy researchers (n = 219) reported a range of challenges in obtaining adequate samples, including ∼10% who found it impossible to procure what they needed. Currently, these samples are collected using a combination of four primary methods: (1) sampling from the ground; (2) tree climbing; (3) constructing fixed infrastructure; and (4) using mobile aerial platforms, primarily rotorcraft drones. An important distinction between instantaneous and continuous sampling was identified, allowing more targeted engineering and development strategies. The combination of methods for sampling the arboreal ecosystem provides a range of possibilities and opportunities, particularly in the context of the rapid development of robotics and other engineering advances. In this study, we aim to identify the strategies that would provide the benefits to a broad range of scientists, arborists, and professional climbers and facilitate basic discovery and applied management. Priorities for advancing these efforts are (1) to expand participation, both geographically and professionally; (2) to define 2–3 common needs across the community; (3) to form and motivate focal teams of biologists, tree professionals, and engineers in the development of solutions to these needs; and (4) to establish multidisciplinary communication platforms to share information about innovations and opportunities for studying arboreal ecosystems.
Keywords
