TraitDivNet field work in Colombia

Although December and January is not a good time for field work in Estonia, then on the southern hemisphere vegetation sampling is possible. This winter, our adventurous field workers, Slendy and Blanca, embarked on an expedition to two contrasting ecosystems in Colombia: one of the rainiest tropical wet forests in the world and one of the driest regions of the country. Their goal was to collect plant trait data to deepen ecological understanding in these unique environments since tropical regions are underrepresented in global trait databases. Slendy and Blanca returned to Estonia with invaluable above- and belowground trait information for 123 tropical plant species — along with countless stories of discovery and adventure.

In Bajo Calima (Valle del Cauca), they explored wet tropical forests together with the local organisation Consejo Comunitario de Comunidades Negras de la Cuenca Baja del Río Calima, and members of the "Pedro Antonio Pineda" Tropical Forest Center at the University of Tolima. In Nazareth (Guajira), they sampled sub-xerophytic thorny forests in collaboration with the Wayú indigenous community and Professor Hermes Cuadros Villalobos from the University of Atlántico.