Scientists Measure Forest Flower Nectar

Australian scientists using cranes and cherry-pickers have gathered nectar from flowers in tall forest canopies to determine the effects of logging.

Scientists from the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries said the project marked the first time it has studied the effect of logging on canopy nectar production in forest trees nearly 100-feet high that provide the major honey resource for the New South Wales beekeeping industry.

While the Australian government has a number of management practices in place to retain nectar-producing trees during logging operations, DPI officials said there has been no information on how much nectar is produced by retained trees or young trees re-growing after logging.

After measuring thousands of flowers, researchers concluded that nectar production in Spotted Gum on a per flower basis was affected by neither logging history nor tree size.

But when the amount of nectar produced by whole forest stands is estimated on the basis of individual flower measurements and counts of flowers and trees, the study found mature forests — those not logged for at least 50 years — produced nearly 10 times as much sugar per hectare as recently logged forest.