The beauty, function, and fragility of rainforest canopy ecosystems

Forest ecologist Dr. Nalini Nadkarni has a singular passion for trees. For the better part of two decades she has studied the plants and animals that inhabit rainforest canopies around the world. Her research has taken her to the forests of Costa Rica, Papua New Guinea, the Amazon and the Pacific Northwest. Now, she spends much of her time reaching beyond the boundaries of the academic world to engage non-scientists in the preservation of forest species and ecosystems.
Dr. Nadkarni has worked with people from diverse walks of life—poets, artists, and prisoners—on projects that include growing moss, making music about trees, and breeding endangered frogs. You can find out more about Dr. Nadkarni’s innovative work via the TED website, which has a terrific video of her talking about the beautiful, fragile world of rainforest treetop ecosystems: