By comparing the distribution of vein density through different forest habitats I want to test the possible application of this leaf trait to the fossil record as proxy of forest stratification.
During my M.Sc. I plan to collect canopy and understorey leaves of different species from a temperate forest in Maryland (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center) and a dry tropical forest in Panama. I will measure and compare the vein density distribution in these forests with the data previously collected in two Tropical rainforests in Panama (Sherman and Parque Metropolitano plots)