Group Tree Sway in a Coniferous Forest Canopy

This paper reports on research to measure and map tree sway motions in a dense coniferous forest canopy in both time and space. Biaxial clinometers mounted on 149 dominant trees in a 150 m diameter circular plot were used to monitor the trees' sway dynamics. Tree bending vectors (magnitude and direction), and their spatial correlations, are mapped to visualize and quantify group sway and gust impressions in the canopy.