Collaborative Research: Lightning as an agent of tropical tree mortality

闪电是一种异常强大的自然现象;它的破坏性影响在历史上一直是人类恐惧和着迷的根源。 科学家们对闪电的物理学有着相对较好的理解，但其在景观尺度上的生态重要性-特别是其作为树木死亡代理人的作用-仍然不清楚。 测量热带森林中闪电的影响很重要，因为随着气候变暖，闪电频率预计在未来几十年内将增加50%。 这项研究将为了解这些变化将如何影响森林动态和生态系统过程（如碳循环）提供基础。 具体来说，它将确定一棵树的大小、位置和物种身份如何影响它被闪电杀死的概率;它将测量森林中由于雷击而出现的枯木数量。 热带雨林是世界上研究生物多样性和生态系统过程的最佳课堂，该项目为路易斯维尔大学和亨茨维尔亚拉巴马大学的学生提供了在国际环境中获得宝贵的第一手研究经验的绝佳机会。 巴拿马的实地是一个受欢迎的旅游目的地，因此该项目为参与者提供了一个与公众定期互动的独特机会。 研究人员先前对雨林树冠的研究引起了国际媒体的关注，预计该项目将引起类似的公众兴趣。 最后，该项目包括与肯塔基州科学中心教育主任的合作，该中心将制作突出这项研究的博物馆展览，并将在非正式的科学咖啡馆环境中组织与项目参与者的公开讨论。本研究的主要目的是量化闪电对树木和藤本植物（木本藤本植物）在低地热带森林的生态效应。该研究采用最新的高科技闪电传感器与数字摄像机相结合，以真实的时间记录和精确定位大约20平方公里森林树冠上的云对地闪电。中心假设是，闪电是热带树木和藤本植物死亡的主要代理商，从而在碳循环和植食性昆虫分布中起着重要作用。这项工作将综合野外生态学、遥感、大气科学和物理学的信息，回答三个基本问题：1）哪些因素影响热带树木遭受雷击的概率？2)在森林范围内，闪电产生的枯木中的碳量是多少？（3）雷害的分布是否会影响林冠昆虫的分布？这项工作将通过测量闪电对整个景观中不同森林组成部分的影响，提高对热带森林动态的认识。具体来说，它将揭示闪电，藤本植物，树木和昆虫之间的关键相互作用。总的来说，该项目将提供第一个准确测量热带森林中闪电分布、频率和生物效应的方法。

Lightning is an exceptionally powerful natural phenomenon; its destructive effects have been a source of fear and fascination for humans throughout history. Scientists have a relatively good understanding of the physics of lightning, but its ecological importance at the landscape scale--especially its role as an agent of tree death--remain unclear. Measuring the effects of lightning in tropical forests is important because lightning frequency is expected to increase by as much as 50% over the next few decades as the climate warms. This research will provide the foundation for understanding how such changes will affect forest dynamics and ecosystem processes such as carbon cycling. Specifically, it will determine how the size, location, and species identity of a tree affects the probability that it will be killed by lightning; and it will measure the amount of dead wood present in a forest due to lightning strikes. Tropical rainforests are the world's best classroom for studying biodiversity and ecosystem processes, and this project provides outstanding opportunities for students at the University of Louisville and the University of Alabama in Huntsville to gain valuable first-hand research experience in an international setting. The field site in Panama is a popular tourist destination, thus the project provides a unique opportunity for participants to interact regularly with the public. Prior studies by the researchers on rainforest canopies attracted international media attention, and this project is expected to generate similar public interest. Finally, this project includes a collaboration with the Director of Education at the Kentucky Science Center, who will produce museum displays highlighting this research, and will organize public discussions with project participants in an informal Science Café setting. The principal objective of this study is to quantify the ecological effects of lightning on trees and lianas (woody vines) in a lowland tropical forest. The research employs the latest high-tech lightning sensors in combination with digital video cameras to record and precisely locate cloud-to-ground lightning flashes over approximately 20 square km of forest canopy in real time. The central hypothesis is that lightning is a major agent of tropical tree and liana mortality, and thereby plays an important role in carbon cycling and plant-feeding insect distributions. The work will integrate information from field ecology, remote sensing, atmospheric science, and physics to answer three basic questions: 1) What factors affect the probability of lightning strikes to tropical trees?; 2) What is the amount of carbon in the form of dead wood produced by lightning on a forest-wide scale?; and 3) Does the distribution of lightning damage affect canopy insect distributions? This work will improve knowledge of tropical forest dynamics by measuring the effects on lightning on different forest components across the landscape. Specifically, it will uncover key interactions among lightning, lianas, trees, and insects. As a whole, the project will provide the first accurate measure of lightning distribution, frequency, and biological effects in a tropical forest.