Understanding the relationship between ecological processes and environmental conditions requires parallel research in a variety of ecosystems and habitat types. With this goal in mind, the Terrestrial Sensing Group at the James Reserve is working to develop sensors network systems at other field stations. U.C. Berkeley's Gump South Pacific Research Station on Moorea, French Polynesia (http://moorea.berkeley.edu) provides a unique opportunity to expand sensing to a tropical ecosystem. This station routinely hosts a variety of researchers in the fields such as terrestrial ecology, marine biology, archeology, and oceanography. Given the opportunities for comparative research between temperate and tropical ecosystems, and a broad range of scientific research activities, the Gump Station is an ideal location for the deployment, testing and use of CENS sensor technology.  The Gump Station also recently became part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network (LTER: http://www.lternet.edu) focusing on coral reef health. This creates additional collaboration opportunities for future CENS marine sensor networks.
The Gump Station is currently collaborating with a local Tahitian non-profit organization, Te Pu 'Atiti'a (http://moorea.berkeley.edu/outreach/). Their three-part mission is to: document, preserve, and promote the biological and cultural heritage of Polynesia; build local scientific capacity for conservation and natural resource management; and combine modern science and traditional knowledge in a common pedagogic framework. The centerpiece of this joint venture is the Atitia Center, an ethnobotanical garden and cultural center currently under construction on the station property. The garden will one day host a wide range of Polynesian medicinal plants and food crops. It will also serve as an experimental research area for ethnobotanists, agronomists, anthropologists and other researchers.
The Terrestrial Group is currently working on two related projects at the Gump Station. The first involves the deployment of a sensor network within an area of the garden already planted with a variety of local food crops. Once a dense sensor network is installed, researchers will be able to use this ÒsmartÓ garden for studies in areas such as plant physiology, comparisons of traditional and modern agricultural techniques, cultivation of medicinal plant species, weed/pest control, and effects of invasive plant species on canopy light regimes. CENS technology infrastructure will also enable other terrestrial and marine researchers to start using sensor networks in their own studies.
The second project underway is an ethnobotanical study conducted by UCR graduate student, Sean Askay. This study is using microclimate and soil sensor arrays to evaluate the influence of weather conditions and the synodical lunar rhythm on the success of local sweet potato crops (Ipomea batatas), as predicted by traditional Tahitian agricultural and ecological knowledge.
 
Research Homepage:  http://research.cens.ucla.edu/projects/2005/Terrestrial_Ecology/agriculture_trop_ecosystem/default.htm