Sky (Yung-Hsiang) Lan, a postdoc, readies ropes and gear for climbing the tree
Dwarf Mistletoe Survey 2019
Western hemlock dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium tsugense subsp. tsugense) is a small, parasitic plant that infects the leaves and branches of its host plant, the western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) tree. Within a forest, like the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest, areas of mistletoe infection are patchy. Some areas of the forest have trees that are not infected, while other areas have trees that are heavily infected. Hemlock trees infected with dwarf mistletoe grow dense, multi-branched growths, called witches’ brooms. Researchers believe that mistletoe infections cause changes in the tree’s growth and water use. To understand the effect of mistletoe in the canopy of a tree, and in the broader area of a forest, graduate student Stephen Calkins and postdoc scholar Sky (Yung-Hsiang) Lan are climbing into the canopy of dozens of western hemlock trees to take a closer look. They measure the extent of the mistletoe infection by noting size and location of brooms in each tree crown. They also map each branch in the tree, recording its location and measuring the size. Each tree will also be cored to measure its sapwood. With these data, Stephen and Sky, together with their advisor, Dave Shaw, from Oregon State University, hope to learn more about how dwarf mistletoe may be affecting forest stands across the Pacific Northwest.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_001
Sky Lan and the large western hemlock tree which will be climbed for the dwarf mistletoe study
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_002
Graduate student Stephen Calkins (left) and postdoc Sky Lan (right) prepare and check gear for climbing into the canopy
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_003
Stephen Calkins (left) and Sky Lan (right) start to pull their rope into the tree.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_004
Sky Lan (left) and Stephen Calkins (right) gear check before their climb into the canopy
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_005
Looking UP into the western hemlock tree that will be climbed as part of the dwarf mistletoe survey
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_006
Stephen Calkins prepares his climbing harness
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_007
Stephen Calkins ascends into the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_008
Stephen Calkins ascends into the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_009
Stephen Calkins ascends into the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_010
Climbing rope
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_011
Sky Lan ties and checks knots in her climbing rope
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_012
Sky Lan checks and readies her climbing rope
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_013
Carabiners ("beeners" as Sky fondly called them) and a descender, used for working in the canopy
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_014
Because the distance makes it hard to hear, Sky and Stephen use radios to communicate between the tree crown and the ground.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_015
Carabiners and climbing gear
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_016
Sky Lan prepares for her climb into the canopy
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_017
To do field work in the canopy of the forest it takes time, planning, and a lot of climbing gear and rope.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_018
Sky Lan prepares her gear for her climb into the canopy
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_019
A close up of the climbing gear
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_020
Sky Lan starts her climb
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_021
Sky Lan climbing into the canopy to start her day of field work in the crown of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_022
Looking down into the understory, from midway up the trunk of the western hemlock
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_023
Looking down into the understory, from midway up the trunk of the western hemlock
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_024
Lina DiGregorio (the photographer for this series), amazed, and midway up the climb into the canopy
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_025
Sky Lan, ever cheerful, mid-climb into the canopy of a very tall western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_026
Looking across at the mid-canopy layer in the forest: dead tree snags, douglas fir and western hemlock trees.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_027
Looking DOWN the tree trunk as we climbed. For scale, note the backpacks on the ground.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_028
Graduate student Stephen Calkins high in the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_029
Looking down into the upper and mid-canopy of the forest
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_030
Stephen Calkins inspects a "witches' broom," a branch infected by dwarf mistletoe.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_031
Sky Lan (left) and Stephen Calkins (right) assess and record data on dwarf mistletoe in the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_032
Sky Lan in the high canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_033
Sky Lan in the high canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_034
Looking down into the upper and mid-canopy of the forest. We can see the lacy branching of western hemlock trees nearby
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_035
Stephen Calkins measures the size of the mistletoe broom--the part of branch affected and deformed by dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_036
Sky Lan records data about dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_037
Stephen Calkins measures the size of the mistletoe broom--the part of branch affected and deformed by dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_038
Looking across into the canopy of the forest. In the top right of the photo, nearby, is a dwarf mistletoe broom.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_039
Looking down into the upper and mid-canopy of the forest. We can see the lacy branching of western hemlock trees nearby
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_040
Sky Lan (left) and Stephen Calkins (right) assess and record data on dwarf mistletoe in the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_041
A close up of Stephen's gear
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_042
Stephen Calkins high in the canopy of a western hemlock tree, where he studies the affects of dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_043
Safety first!
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_044
Fruting bodies of western dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_045
Stephen Calkins holds fruiting bodies of the dwarf mistletoe plant: the female plant is on the left, the male on the right
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_046
Sky Lan (left) and Stephen Calkins (right) keep a positive work atmosphere
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_047
Sky Lan records data about dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_048
Sky Lan (left) and Stephen Calkins (right) assess and record data on dwarf mistletoe in the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_049
Looking down through the canopy of the forest
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_050
Looking down through the canopy of the forest
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_051
Lina DiGregorio (Andrews Forest LTER Coordinator) with her camera gear
Photographed by: Sky Lan
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_052
Stephen Calkins measures the size of the mistletoe broom--the part of branch affected and deformed by dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_053
Sky Lan (left) and Stephen Calkins (right) assess and record data on dwarf mistletoe in the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_054
Stephen Calkins does his research high in the canopy of the forest
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_055
Using a laser rangefinder to record distances and branch lengths
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_056
Looking across at the mid-canopy layer in the forest: dead tree snags, douglas fir and western hemlock trees.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_057
Sky Lan, at ease in the canopy of a western hemlock tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_058
Postdoc Sky (Yung-Hsiang) Lan, and graduate student Stephen Calkins
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_059
Sky Lan, with climbing gear, safety equipment, and fieldwork supplies
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_060
recording data, 1000 feet up
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_061
recording data
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_062
Sky Lan, with climbing gear, safety equipment, and fieldwork supplies
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_063
close up of gear
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_064
Stephen Calkins measures the size of the mistletoe broom--the part of branch affected and deformed by dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_065
The female fruiting body of a dwarf mistletoe plant
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_066
The male fruting body of a dwarf mistletoe plant
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_067
Looking down, way down. Note the blue backpack on the ground at the base of the tree.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_068
Stephen Calkins measures the size of the mistletoe broom--the part of branch affected and deformed by dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_069
A dwarf mistletoe broom
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_070
recording data, 1000 feet up
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_071
inspecting a branch to see if it is infected with dwarf mistletoe
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_072
Using a compass to assess orientation of mistletoe-infected branches on a tree
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_073
Lina DiGregorio (left) photographing in the canopy, and Sky Lan (right)
Photographed by: Stephen Calkins
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_074
Stephen Calkins, Lina DiGregorio, Sky Lan
Photographed by: Stephen Calkins
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_075
Lina DiGregorio, ready to descend back to the ground after photographing Stephen's and Sky's field work in the canopy
Photographed by: Stephen Calkins
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_076
Looking back up the tree, just after the climb
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_077
Sky Lan and Stephen Calkins in the canopy. Photo taken from the ground with a zoom lens.
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_078
The tree, in the center, is where Sky and Stephen were doing their work on this particular day and where the photos were taken
Photographed by: Lina DiGregorio
Date: 7/17/2019
Photo number: aeq_079