A field expedition to Tanzania by a team from the Forest Ecology Unit of FEM Research and Innovation Centre has recently been completed, resulting in the establishment of a continuous monitoring site within the Udzungwa Mountains National Park.

The team, composed of researchers and technicians Luca Belelli Marchesini, Mauro Cavagna and Roberto Zampedri, accompanied by Research and Innovation Centre Director Damiano Gianelle, completed the installation of monitoring devices developed within the framework of the European RemoTrees project (Grant Agreement No. 101086287). The instruments were deployed in an undisturbed experimental forest area located at an altitude of 800 metres, becoming the first site established in an equatorial forest within the emerging global monitoring network currently under development.

Some of the devices were installed directly on selected tree trunks, while others were placed nearby. Together, they continuously measure sap flow, stem growth, forest microclimate and solar radiation beneath the forest canopy in the visible and near-infrared spectrum. These observations will help researchers investigate the eco-physiological responses of forest ecosystems to climate variability and change.

The mission benefited from the invaluable logistical support of Dr Francesco Rovero of the MUSE – Science Museum of Trento, who has more than twenty years of research experience in the Udzungwa Mountains forests. The team also collaborated with the NGO MACCO (Mazingira Alliance for Community and Conservation), whose staff received on-site training to support future maintenance and repair activities of the monitoring equipment.