Studying the flora and fauna of a forest canopy is exciting, adventurous and often ground-breaking work. But it can also be back-breaking and technically challenging to access and spend time in the heights of the forest canopy. The beginnings of forest canopy access were both humble and bizarre. There are accounts of researchers hiring local people to climb for them, cutting down the study tree, shooting off branches or even training monkeys to collect samples for them!
Modern researchers/adventurers have many more options and for some it seems that the sky really is the limit with some pretty amazing canopy access methods at their fingertips. Lets have a look at the different approaches people take to exploring the canopy:
Modern researchers/adventurers have many more options and for some it seems that the sky really is the limit with some pretty amazing canopy access methods at their fingertips. Lets have a look at the different approaches people take to exploring the canopy:
The ultimate
If you're lucky you might get involved in a canopy project that has some serious tools/toys. Balloons, inflatable platforms, towers, cranes and walkways are all used in the tropics to get up close and personal with canopy flora and fauna. They allow relatively quick access to the same sites for monitoring, sampling and observations and can be very useful for long-term studies.
The disadvantages of the cranes, walkways and towers are (1) that your sample area is fixed and (2) that the construction of these structures causes damage to the surrounding forest. The main downside of using balloons is the dependence on suitable weather conditions.
As for the inflatable platform... it is 400 square metres and was put in place by helicopter. Moving past "wow that is awesome!", I think it would share some of the disadvantages of both the balloons (weather dependent for installation) and the large structures (fixed study area). These large-scale methods are also expensive but some operators can offset costs through eco-tourism.
As for the inflatable platform... it is 400 square metres and was put in place by helicopter. Moving past "wow that is awesome!", I think it would share some of the disadvantages of both the balloons (weather dependent for installation) and the large structures (fixed study area). These large-scale methods are also expensive but some operators can offset costs through eco-tourism.
The humble
A slightly more humble method of canopy access that is available to many more people is tree climbing. Taking on the appearance of an aborist or rock climber, tree climbing involves donning harness, helmet and various nifty climbing tools to pull (with your arms) or push (with your legs) yourself into the tree tops using a system of ropes. Once in the canopy, various methods can be employed to move around branches and undertake surveys etc.
Tree climbing practise at the University of Waikato. Photo: Natalie Guest.
The advantage of tree climbing is that it costs a lot less than the above approaches and as long as you can walk to your study tree you can usually climb it with very little impact on the forest. The downside is that it can be time intensive to set up ropes and then climb up, especially if the tree is very tall. It is also hard explore the outer canopy because the branches are too thin.
A nice view from a tall Puriri. Photo: Catherine Kirby
The beginner
Every canopy explorer starts in the same, wonderful place: on the ground with a pair of binoculars. This can be an awesome, low cost, low risk, easy way to access the canopy. I have very good memories of lying on the forest floor for long periods of time, gazing up into the forest ceiling through some binocs, wondering about the plants and animals in the sunny tree top ecosystems. So if you're interested in the forest canopy and you haven't done so already, get out there with some binoculars and see what you can discover.
The easiest canopy access method: binoculars! Photo: Catherine Kirby
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