Gilbert Gregory S, Ballesteros Javier O, Barrios-Rodriguez Cesar A, Bonadies Ernesto F, Cedeño-Sánchez Marjorie L, Fossatti-Caballero Nohely J, Trejos-Rodríguez Mariam M, Pérez-Suñiga José Moises, Holub-Young Katharine S, Henn Laura A W, Thompson Jennifer B, García-López Cesar G, Romo Amanda C, Johnston Daniel C, Barrick Pablo P, Jordan Fulvia A, Hershcovich Shiran, Russo Natalie, Sánchez Juan David, Fábrega Juan Pablo, Lumpkin Raleigh, McWilliams Hunter A, Chester Kathleen N, Burgos Alana C, Wong E Beatriz, Diab Jonathan H, Renteria Sonia A, Harrower Jennifer T, Hooton Douglas A, Glenn Travis C, Faircloth Brant C, Hubbell Stephen P
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama; Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz, California 95064 USA.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Balboa, Ancón, Republic of Panama.
Appl Plant Sci. 2016 Dec 16;4(12). doi: 10.3732/apps.1600060. eCollection 2016 Dec.
Field methodology and image analysis protocols using acoustic tomography were developed and evaluated as a tool to estimate the amount of internal decay and damage of living trees, with special attention to tropical rainforest trees with irregular trunk shapes.
Living trunks of a diversity of tree species in tropical rainforests in the Republic of Panama were scanned using an Argus Electronic PiCUS 3 Sonic Tomograph and evaluated for the amount and patterns of internal decay. A protocol using ImageJ analysis software was used to quantify the proportions of intact and compromised wood. The protocols provide replicable estimates of internal decay and cavities for trees of varying shapes, wood density, and bark thickness.
Sonic tomography, coupled with image analysis, provides an efficient, noninvasive approach to evaluate decay patterns and structural integrity of even irregularly shaped living trees.