Growth Bands

Growth data is an important component of sustainable forest use, but collecting these data can be tricky for timber trees in the tropics that don't have clear growth rings. What I usually do is put dendrometer bands on the trees (see How To Make Dendrometer Bands and Selva Maya III). We went to the forest at Tikon one day to learn how to make these bands. Everybody learned how to make them, but the foresters in the group (the ones in the brown hats) really took an interest in putting the bands on the trees. I just stepped back and marveled at what good students they were.

Image above shows Kyaw Thin Latt (WCS Myanmar) scratching the zero point on the band with the tip of the caliper. We banded about fifteen trees that day. I couldn't get them to stop.