Cartagena, Colombia
Lianas are an increasingly important component of tropical forests; this workshop will provide the techniques to include lianas in new and ongoing ecological studies.
Lianas play a key role in many aspects of tropical forest ecology. However, the study of lianas is limited because they are perceived to be difficult to measure, and thus are often omitted from many forest surveys. Over the past two decades, we have developed easy-to-implement, standardized sampling protocols for surveying lianas in ecological studies. In this field-based workshop, we will share these sampling techniques to help serve the growing need for new and continued ecological studies that include lianas. We will teach methods in plot- and individual based liana surveys that will cover how to identify major groups of lianas, how to distinguish lianas from other growth forms and standard liana survey methods such as how to measure liana diameter, where to measure liana diameter, how to calculate liana basal area and estimate biomass, and how to set-up long-term survey plots. We will hold the workshop in collaboration with the Cartagena Botanical Gardens, where there is a 7-ha forest. This workshop is for researchers at any stage of their career – from students to established scientists.
Field Course
Field techniques for surveying lianas
Saturday July 9th- Afternoon (4h, 1:00pm-5:00pm)