Resolving the mystery of the crosshatched lines

An outstanding mystery in the Jungle Rhythnms dataset was resolved today. Although the protocol used has been largely uncovered some of the notations, and their meaning, in the summary tables remained unresolved. In particular the crosshatched lines were a source of uncertainty. Were they faulty markings, or valid observations?

Today I cross referenced the tables with the original notebooks containing the observations (Figure below, panel c). In this sheet observations for February (Fevrier in French) describe “feilles tombees d’autres au dessus”, or “fallen leaves with some on top”. The next week notes: “feilles tombees au dessus rien et les jeunes feuilles au dessus”, which reads “fallen leaves, on top nothing and young leaves on top”.

This confirms that these crosshatched lines are leaf turnover events of semi-deciduous trees rather than faulty notations.