Carbon oracle
Predicting uncertain futures for tropical landscapes
January 11, 2022
Deforestation scenarios show the importance of secondary forest for meeting Panama’s carbon goals.
Deforestation scenarios show the importance of secondary forest for meeting Panama’s carbon goals.
Understanding when and where trees die in vast tropical forests is a challenging first step toward understanding carbon dynamics and climate change. Researchers explained variations in tree mortality over a five-year period by analyzing drone images of one of the most-studied tropical forests in the world, Barro Colorado Island in Panama.
Plant leaves show us the species that exist in a forest, and the ecological conditions in which they live. These attributes can also be observed in fossil leaves, which allows us to reconstruct forests that existed millions of years ago and understand how they have changed over time. In this talk we will talk about how fossil leaves tell us about the effect of a mass extinction 66 million years ago, on the evolution of modern tropical forests.
Giant agates found in an island on the Pacific coast of Panama prompted a study on the area’s geology to answer the question of how the Isthmus evolved and became a bridge between two continents.
A multi-year study in the tropical forests of the Panama Canal found that the species most frequently damaged by lightning tended to be the most capable of surviving it.
A study spanning six continents explored the role of termites and microorganisms in wood decay.
Barro Colorado Island Research Station in Panama celebrates upcoming 100th birthday with an exhibition at the US National Museum of Natural History.
Animals will help restore tropical forests if people locate reforestation projects near existing forest reserves and control hunting.
Geologist Tony Coates changed the way we think about the ground under our feet. He confirmed the date when North and South America were connected at about 3 million years ago. We remember Tony not only as a skilled field geologist, but as a kind person and storyteller, who captured the imagination of scientists and non-scientists alike with his ability to spin a tale.
A Smithsonian emeritus scientist takes a field trip to some of Panama’s most important known marine fossil deposits for a quick lesson the age of the Ithsmus of Panama.