Our research on the limits to the resilience of forests and woodlands to drought takes us to a range of native forests and woodlands across Australia. In late November, we visited one of the tropical field sites, Daintree Rainforest Observatory at Cape Tribulation, Far North Queensland. The DRO is a unique research facility, which can provide easy access to the rainforest canopy using a canopy crane gondola (47 m tall, 55 m radius). We studied the vulnerability of stems and leaves of rainforest tree species to drought and other related hydraulics parameters.

The video below is a short time-lapse clip which was recorded during leaf sampling for anatomical analyses in the canopy, using the DRO canopy crane. Continue reading →