{"id":53,"date":"2014-12-16T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-12-16T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.msdn.microsoft.com\/msr_er\/2014\/12\/16\/cloud-computing-helps-make-sense-of-cloud-forests\/"},"modified":"2017-05-17T15:10:55","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T22:10:55","slug":"cloud-computing-helps-make-sense-of-cloud-forests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/research\/blog\/cloud-computing-helps-make-sense-of-cloud-forests\/","title":{"rendered":"Cloud computing helps make sense of cloud forests"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Cloud<\/p>\n

The forests that surround Campos do Jordao are among the foggiest places on Earth. With a canopy shrouded in mist much of time, these are the renowned cloud forests of the Brazilian state of S\u00e3o Paulo. It is here that researchers from the S\u00e3o Paulo Research Foundation (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>\u2014better known by its Portuguese acronym, FAPESP\u2014have partnered with Rafael Olivier, professor of ecology at the University of Campinas (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a>, in an ambitious effort to understand the climate and ecology of these spectacular woodlands. Their aptly named Cloud Forest Project has both conservation and practical goals, as it seeks to understand how to protect one of Brazil\u2019s largest forested areas while learning to manage access to water and other natural resources more effectively.<\/p>\n

The researchers want to unravel the impact of micro-climate variation in the cloud forest ecosystem. Essentially, they want to understand how the forest works\u2014how carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, and other nutrients cycle through plants, animals, and microorganisms in this complex ecosystem. To do so, they\u2019ve placed some 700 sensors in 15 forest plots, locating the devices at levels throughout the forest, from beneath the soil to the top of the canopy.<\/p>\n