Returning From Nam Sabi

Had a productive field session in the Village Management Area (VMA) of Nam Sabi. Made a basecamp deep into the VMA (more on this later), and started reading the growth bands that we had put on a sample of timber trees exactly a year ago. Scheduled a follow-up survey to finish reading the bands with WCS, Forest Department, and a team of villagers in about a week. Image above shows us pushing the boat out into the Chindwin River to return to the ranger station in Htamanthi.    

Looking Up

When you are here (orange square shown in image above), and you stop for lunch, and, while you are munching on your greasy curry and peanuts, you pause and look up–this is what you see:

Beautiful piece of forest. Well worth the walk. See Nam Sabi VMA and Running The Baseline for more information about this; thanks to U Myint Thein and Daw Myint Myint Oo for bringing me here. [NOTE: As a contrast, I would be remiss to not link to The Importance of Looking Down].

Wonder Where We Are?

U Naing Oo (Nam Sa Bi), U Myint Thein (Htamanthi WS) and I take a concerted look at the GPS while laying out the baseline for the Nam Sa Bi Village Management Area (see Nam Sa Bi VMA). [NOTE: We actually knew exactly where we were; I was checking to see how close our measured and satellite distances were. And they were real close (thx, Myint Thein)]. 

Drawing Histograms

Sitting on the front porch of U Aung Than's house in Nam Sabi taking advantage of the light provided by his generator. U Myint Thein (see Collaboration) draws diameter-distribution histograms using data from the first two inventory transects from the VMA (see VMA Inventory) to present in the village meeting that will happen in about 15 minutes - or as soon as we finish the histograms. Daw Myint Myint Oo looks on and checks for errors while I flip through the data sheets and try to find all the big thin bone trees (see Measuring the Diameter of a Tree). [NOTE: I guess Sein Day Le took the photo (thx)].

Stake 14

U Ohn Hlaing, leader of the Village Management Area project at Nam Sabi (see Nam Sabi VMA and Tiger Tracks), adjusts stake 14. [NOTE: It gets cold and snowy in New York and I start thinking about setting inventory stakes in northern Myanmar].

Wade in the Water

The first steps out from the VMA basecamp at Nam Sabi (see Basecamp) lead directly into Hway Taung Kaw (Taw-htan stream). Wakes you right up in the morning. [NOTE: That's me in the middle with the walking stick (with orange flagging tied around it so I won't lose it]. 

Running The Baseline

A short video showing some of Myint Thein's compass work as we laid out the baseline for the VMA in Nam Sabi (see Nam Sabi VMA). Forest shown in the clip is a lot flatter and more open than much of the vegetation we went through.  Love Myint Thein's chatter with the line cutter as he sets the stake (0:23-0:25). [NOTE: Video by Myint Myint Oo (thx)]. 

VMA Inventory

Image above shows the location of the Village Management Area in Nam Sa Bi (see Nam Sa Bi VMA). We laid out the 2.0 kilometer baseline and inventoried the first two of twenty transects in late October. Received an e-mail yesterday (thx, Myint Myint Oo) letting me know that the field crews had finished the remaining 9.0 hectares of transects and put growth bands around 80 sample trees. This is a huge accomplishment. And I am ecstatic. And it is now time - maybe a little past time - for the guys to go harvest their rice fileds. Talk about a full plate. Rice farmer, forest manager, biometrician. The Shan villagers from Nam Sa Bi do it all.     

Cup of Tea

You walk about 5 miles, much of this across streams and through rice fields and your boots are soaking wet, and you finally make it to the basecamp (see Basecamp) and all you want to do is sit down and take off your boots - and then someone brings you a freshly-made bamboo cup filled with hot (local) green tea. May have been one of the best (and most appreciated) cups of tea I have ever had. [NOTE: Curious that I took a picture before I took a sip].

One Knot

We always correct for slope in our transects (see Tying the Knots), and during the early stages of laying out the VMA baseline at Nam Sa Bi it was my job to measure this parameter with a clinometer (or my eye). Image above shows one of the flatter segments, and I had apparently determined it to be a 10 percent slope, i.e. one knot. Hence, the gesture. I have a  strong feeling that I eye-balled this one. [NOTE: Photo by Myint Myint Oo or Sein Dale (thx)].