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Alice grows up: canopy science in transition from Wonderland to Reality

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Tropical Forest Canopies: Ecology and Management

Part of the book series: Forestry Sciences ((FOSC,volume 69))

Abstract

This paper gives, for the first time, a complete history of rain forest canopy access, from the early years to the present day. This review is primarily from the European perspective, and explores the development of canopy access techniques, from ‘low-tech’ methods such as single rope technique, to ‘hi-tech’ approaches such as canopy cranes. In recent years, canopy science has moved away from pure exploration (the ‘Wonderland’ phase) to tackling the practicalities of rigorous canopy research (‘Reality’), and the underlying emphasis is now shifting from access to the upper canopy per se to conducting replicative and manipulative science. The paper concludes by advocating the integration of many access techniques (both hi-tech and low-tech) at selected research sites, and certain neglected key areas of research are highlighted, including the comparison of adjacent primary and logged forests.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tropical Biology and Conservation Research Institute (IBTP), University of Malaysia Sabah, Locked Bag 2073, 88999, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

    Stephen L. Sutton

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  1. Stephen L. Sutton
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Biozentrum, University of Wuerzburg, Germany

    K. Eduard Linsenmair

  2. Green College, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    A. J. Davis

  3. Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology Biozentrum, Wuerzburg, Germany

    B. Fiala

  4. St. Anne’s College and Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK

    M. R. Speight

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© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Sutton, S.L. (2001). Alice grows up: canopy science in transition from Wonderland to Reality. In: Linsenmair, K.E., Davis, A.J., Fiala, B., Speight, M.R. (eds) Tropical Forest Canopies: Ecology and Management. Forestry Sciences, vol 69. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3606-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3606-0_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5724-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3606-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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