{
  "id": 4683609,
  "title": "TreeTOP: Plant experimental platforms in canopy space",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/treetop-plant-experimental-platforms-in-canopy-space",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.30.748063v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Forest canopies are known to create distinct microclimatic conditions that significantly influence plant growth, species interactions, and ecosystem processes. However, accessing these canopies for research has been a challenge due to their difficult-to-reach nature. In response, a team has developed TreeTOP, a standardized experimental platform designed to provide researchers with easy access to tree canopies for manipulative ecological experiments.\n\nTreeTOP is composed of lightweight aluminum frames that are installed in mature trees without causing any harm. These frames allow potted plants to be positioned at three different heights within the canopy: ground level, shade canopy, and sun canopy. The platform was tested in two settings, one with a canopy crane, grid power, and fully automated irrigation, and the other built by certified tree climbers equipped with an autonomous solar-powered, battery-operated irrigation system.\n\nBoth installations successfully replicated the characteristic canopy microclimatic gradients, such as increasing light availability, daytime air temperatures, and thermal extremes with height. Remarkably, despite the differing infrastructures, both implementations generated similar microclimatic patterns, demonstrating that standardized canopy experiments can be carried out in forests with or without permanent canopy access. By opening canopy space for manipulative experiments, TreeTOP offers a transferable framework for studying various aspects of plants, including their performance, phenology, species interactions, and microbiome assembly, all within the context of realistic forest conditions.",
  "summary": "1. Forest canopies harbour strong microclimatic gradients that shape plant performance, species interactions and ecosystem processes. Yet, despite renewed interest sparked by global change, forest canopies remain difficult-to-access experimental spaces. 2. With the goal to expand access to tree canopies as experimental arenas, we designed, built, and tested TreeTOP, a standardized experimental…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}