A quantitative technique for the identification of canopy stratification in tropical and temperate forests

Abstract

Canopy stratification is one of the oldest concepts in tropical forest ecology. However, there has been considerable debate over the existence and identification of strata. Much of the confusion arises from the differing definitions of strata (i.e. vertical stratification of phytomass, individual crowns, or species) and the methods used to evaluate them (e.g. profile diagrams). In this paper, a quantitative technique for identifying stratification of individual tree crowns in the forest canopy is presented. Strata are identified by comparing sorted tree heights to a moving average of height at the base of the live crown. Height and crown measurements were obtained from 21 published profile d..