Hidden secrets in the world's most northerly rainforests
Wednesday, July 18, 2012 - 18:30
in Biology & Nature
Lobaria pulmonaria, or tree lungwort, showed surprising genetic diversity in boreal rainforest fragments in Norway. The word rainforest usually conjures up visions of brightly coloured birds and hyperactive monkeys swooping through a thick green canopy of leaves, vines and flowers. But rainforests are also found closer to the poles, in the northern or boreal region where temperatures are far cooler. And while there are no monkeys swinging through the trees here, these forests are every bit as endangered as their southern cousins, and highly diverse – if you know where to look.