Lightning and Lianas
Researching whether Lianas act as lightning rods in the Panamanian rainforest.
Twenty years ago, Dr. Steve Yanoviak witnessed a lightning strike on a tree in a rainforest, not more than 10 meters from him. To his surprise, the tree was apparently undamaged. In fact, despite the high frequency of lightning strikes in tropical forests, lightning damage seems to be minimal. So this summer in Panama, Dr. Yanoviak, an ecologist from the University of Louisville in Kentucky, is testing a theory that lianas, the parasitic vines that climb rainforest trees, may be acting as lightning rods and preserving trees from damaging strikes. He's going to be attracting lightning strikes to trees and lianas with copper wire floated on balloons - what he calls his "Ben Franklin" apparatus.
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