Treesearch

The response of tropical forests to global warming is one of the largest uncertainties in predicting the future carbon balance of Earth. To determine the likely effects of elevated temperatures on tropical forest understory plants and soils, as well as other ecosystems, an infrared (IR) heater system was developed to provide in situ warming for the Tropical Responses to Altered Climate Experiment (TRACE) in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. Three replicate heated 4-m-diameter plots were warmed to maintain a 4°C increase in understory vegetation compared to three unheated...

Tropical forests play a critical role in carbon and water cycles at a global scale. Rapid climate change is anticipated in tropical regions over the coming decades and, under a warmer and drier climate, tropical forests are likely to be net sources of carbon rather than sinks. However, our understanding of tropical forest response and feedback to climate change is very limited. Efforts to model climate change impacts on carbon fluxes in tropical forests have not reached a consensus. Here, we use the Ecosystem Demography model (ED2) to predict carbon fluxes of a Puerto Rican tropical forest...

Abstract Assessing the relationships between weather patterns and the likelihood of fire occurrence in the Caribbean has not been as central to climate change research as in temperate regions, due in part to the smaller extent of individual fires. However, the cumulative effect of small frequent fires can shape large landscapes, and fire-prone ecosystems are abundant in the tropics. Climate change has the potential to greatly expand fire-prone areas to moist and wet tropical forests and grasslands that have been traditionally less fire-prone, and to extend and create more temporal variabili...

The major goal of my dissertation was to understand the effect of urban development on biodiversity conservation in Puerto Rico. To accomplish this goal I: 1) described how much and what biodiversity occurs inside the network of terrestrial protected areas, 2) quantified pressure from urban development and human population around protected areas, and 3) assessed how urban development affects the distribution of anurans and reptiles along an urban-rural gradient

Chapter I of this thesis collects general information of green roofs and evaluates the principles of this topic. It covers GR description, design, potential benefits, and climate change. The chapter also includes information about the green roofs in the tropical zones around the globe, and more specifically in Puerto Rico. In Chapter II a vegetation analysis of 4 GRs in San Juan, Puerto Rico was undertaken. The International Institute of Tropical Forestry (IITF) facilities were used as well as an older green roof located in the University of Puerto Rico. The IITF green roofs possessed the...

is report describes the eects of Hurricanes Irma (6 Sept.) and Maria (20 Sept.) in 2017 on bird populations in northeastern Puerto Rico by comparing the Fajardo Christmas Bird Count (FCBC) post-hurricane results (17 Dec. 2017) with pre-hurricane results (18 Dec. 2016). Although the search eort, measured as party hours, was less aer the hurricane (45 vs. 54), both FCBCs used similar procedures and relied on volunteers who counted birds in a circular area prescribed by a diameter of 15 miles. Total numbers of individual birds decreased aer the hurricanes compared to the 2016 pre-hurrican...

Se estudió la anatomía de porciones juveniles de tallos, en trece especies de Cactaceae que crecen en los estados Lara y Falcón, a fin de obtener información biológica que pueda contribuir a delimitarlas taxonómicamente. Las especies estudiadas fueron: Acanthocereus tetragonus, Cilindropuntia caribaea, Epiphyllum hookerii, Hylocereus lemairei, Melocactus curvispinus ssp. curvispinus, Opuntia caracasana, O. cf. bisetosa, Pilosocereus moritzianus, Praecereus euchlorus, Rhipsalis baccifera, Selenicereus inermis, Subpilosocereus russellianus y Stenocereus griseus. Se recolectaron trozos de...

The ability of people to participate in the decisions that affect their lives is a tenet of democratic governance. In the broadest sense, public participation pertains to processes by which people engage in the development and implementation of public policies and programs. Fung (2006) stated that participation serves the democratic values of legitimacy and justice and improves the effectiveness of public action. Public participation can be carried out in a variety of ways, from casting votes at the ballot box, to testifying in court, to demonstrations and protests. It is also accomplished...

Juan A. Torres-Negron (Juan Torres) studied ants, wasps, termites and other insect groups. I reviewed 34 of his publications and grouped them into six subjects: ecological theory, taxonomy, chemistry, ecology, synthesis, and commentaries. Juan Torres used empirical fieldwork, keen observations, and experimentation to advance the understanding of ant taxonomy and ecology in Puerto Rico. His taxonomic work involved the description of new species and genera of various insect groups, as well as revisions of taxonomic groups, and other observations of the ecology and behavior of rare taxa. Juan...

This report is a companion report to the National Report on Sustainable Forests, except that the analysis in this case is specifically applied to tropical forests found on U.S. islands and U.S.-affiliated island jurisdictions in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. Like its national counterpart, the report uses the Montréal Process Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management (MP C&I) to provide a comprehensive picture of forest conditions. Each of the seven criteria in the MP C&I is given a separate chapter, and the resulting analysis includes consideration of ecological,...