New views of old trees: how 3D imaging techniques are changing our understanding of forest structure and function
What is a tree? Or a forest? And why does it matter? Trees and forests are a key part of our climate system, reservoirs of biodiversity, urban thermoregulation devices, and they make us happier and healthier. But of course it’s not all about us, or at least it shouldn’t be. So how do we measure trees and forests to understand how they are responding to climate change, disturbance and management? How do we even know how much carbon is stored in a single tree, let alone the 3 trillion trees that are estimated to exist on Earth? What can the extremes of tree form and function tell us about other organisms? I will describe some of the new ways in which we are able to measure trees and forests, from the tropics to UK town centres, how we are combining these observations with more traditional approaches, and how this is opening new avenues of research
