Len Webb Ecological Images Collection

Image No. 4-5

Disturbance -- Tornado? Local canopy gap possibly resulting from small tornado Bellenden Ker Range, Queensland July 1976 Larger image (226K)

Canopy gaps result from "windthrows" and the shearing and shredding of tree crowns. Tornadoes spun off from cyclones descend more or less vertically, with localised canopy destruction; or briefly continue to shatter vegetation along a narrow strip (personal communication, Prof. G. Oliver, formerly Geography Dept., James Cook University, Townsville).
Close-up aerial view of large canopy gap remote from logging tracks and human impacts. Edge of intact rainforest (complex mesophyll vine forest) begins at top of photo. There is total canopy cover, mainly of vines and pioneer shrubs. Note tree ferns.

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