Cary Institute Presents "Gigante: Tracking the Fate of the World's Big Trees"

Take a trip to the tropics with Cary Institute scientist Dr. Evan Gora, a forest ecologist exploring the fate of some of the world’s largest trees. Gora is also a Fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Tropical forests like the Amazon store vast amounts of carbon in the trunks, branches, and roots of their trees. Over half of this carbon is locked up in the largest one percent of trees. These giants, which can live for hundreds to thousands of years and grow to massive heights, play an outsized role in mitigating climate change. When giants die, the Earth loses the rich biodiversity they support, and the carbon they store is released back into the atmosphere. Understanding their fate, at a time when tropical trees are dying at an increasing rate, is critical.

Gora is co-leading "Gigante," a project exploring when, where, and why giant tropical trees die. Using forest forensics, drones, and computing, he is working with an international team to monitor the fate of trees in large-scale plots across four countries on three continents: Panama, Brazil, Cameroon, and Malaysia. By understanding what is killing giant trees, the Gigante team is developing a clearer picture of which tree species are best at surviving major stresses like lightning, wind, drought, and disease. This information is vital to tropical forest conservation and restoration.

This event is free and open to all. There will be time for audience Q&A following the presentation.

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