Treesearch

We studied the structure and species composition of nine residual forest stands of Dacryodes excelsa (tabonuco), a dominant vegetation type in the moist and wet lower montane forests of the Caribbean. The stands were scattered over three different landscapes with different degrees of anthropogenic disturbance: forested, shade coffee, and tobacco. We compared our results with data from undisturbed stands inside a protected and forested landscape to see how the type of landscape that surrounded them affected the structure and species composition of the residual forest stands. In the process...

We used eddy covariance and ecological measurements to investigate the effects of reduced impact logging (RIL) on an old-growth Amazonian forest. Logging caused small decreases in gross primary production, leaf production, and latent heat flux, which were roughly proportional to canopy loss, and increases in heterotrophic respiration, tree mortality, and wood production. The net effect of RIL was transient, and treatment effects were barely discernable after only 1 y. RIL appears to provide a strategy for managing tropical forest that minimizes the potential risks to climate associated...

Microbial communities and their associated enzyme activities affect the amount and chemical quality of carbon (C) in soils. Increasing nitrogen (N) deposition, particularly in N-rich tropical forests, is likely to change the composition and behavior of microbial communities and feed back on ecosystem structure and function. This study presents a novel assessment of mechanistic links between microbial responses to N deposition and shifts in soil organic matter (SOM) quality and quantity. We used phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and microbial enzyme assays in soils to assess microbial...

Leaf mass per area (LMA) is a trait of central importance to plant physiology and ecosystem function, but LMA patterns in the upper canopies of humid tropical forests have proved elusive due to tall species and high diversity. We collected top-of-canopy leaf samples from 2873 individuals in 57 sites spread across the Neotropics, Australasia, and Caribbean and Pacific Islands to quantify environmental and taxonomic drivers of LMA variation, and to advance remote-sensing measures of LMA. We uncovered strong taxonomic organization of LMA, with species accounting for 70% of the global variance...

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition is increasing rapidly in tropical regions, adding N to ecosystems that often have high background N availability. Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle, yet the effects of N deposition on C cycling in these ecosystems are poorly understood. We used a field N-fertilization experiment in lower and upper elevation tropical rain forests in Puerto Rico to explore the responses of above- and belowground C pools to N addition. As expected, tree stem growth and litterfall productivity did not respond to N fertilization in...

Soil redox plays a key role in regulating biogeochemical transformations in terrestrial ecosystems, but the temporal and spatial patterns in redox and associated controls within and across ecosystems are poorly understood. Upland humid tropical forest soils may be particularly prone to fluctuating redox as abundant rainfall limits oxygen (O2) diffusion through finely textured soils and high biological activity enhances O2 consumption. We used soil equilibration chambers equipped with automated sensors to determine the temporal variability in soil oxygen concentrations in two humid tropical...

Complex mixed-species forests are the focus of conservation efforts that seek to maintain native biodiversity. However, much of this forestland is privately owned and is managed for timber income as well as for conservation. Management of these high-diversity forests is particularly difficult when only one tree species produces the majority of high-value timber. We examined the past and current management of two regions which have those characteristics: Massachusetts, USA, with red oak (Quercus rubra L.) as the key timber species, and Quintana Roo, Mexico, with big-leaf mahogany (Swietenia...

En este mapa mostramos las areas naturales protegidas designadas para la conservacion de los recursos naturales en Puerto Rico y regiones reguladas por ley con el potencial de mejorar la conservacion de los mismos. La designacion de areas protegidas es un proceso dinamico debido a que es el resultado de la constante evolucion de valores en los diferentes sectores de la sociedad. La informacion mostrada es una compilacion de datos geoespaciales disponibles de varias agencias federales y estatales y organizaciones no gubernamentales. El mapa principal, "Areas protegidas por administracion",...