Treesearch

Tropical forest understory regeneration occurs rapidly after disturbance with compositional trajectories that depend on species availability and environmental conditions. To predict future tropical forest regeneration dynamics, we need a deeper understanding of how pulse disturbance events, like hurricanes, interact with environmental variability to affect understory demography and composition. We examined fern and sapling mortality, recruitment, and community composition in relation to solar radiation and soil moisture using 17 years of forest dynamics data (2003–2019) from the Canopy...

Hurricanes alter forest habitat by opening the canopy and depositing fresh wood and leaves. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of hurricane and drought-driven changes to forests on green litter decomposition, invertebrate communities, and nutrient mineralization over a short period (6 months) after disturbance. We used three complete replicated blocks with two canopy treatments: control and trim + detritus. Green leaves were enclosed in litterbags of three different mesh sizes to determine the effect of soil fauna of varying body sizes. Litterbags were retrieved from...

Fungi that bind leaf litter into mats and produce white-rot via degradation of lignin and other aromatic compounds influence forest nutrient cycling and soil fertility. Extent of white-rot litter mats formed by basidiomycete fungi in Puerto Rico decreased in response to disturbances—a simulated hurricane treatment executed by canopy trimming and debris addition in 2014, a drought in 2015, a treefall, and two hurricanes 10 days apart in September 2017. Percent fungal litter mat cover ranged from 0.4% after Hurricanes Irma and Maria to a high of 53% in forest with undisturbed canopy prior to...

In the face of global climate change, city governments must anticipate and guide decisions in response to extreme weather-related events, including coastal and inland flooding, heat waves, multi-hazard risks, drought, and winter extremes. With the goal of addressing this challenge, between Sept. 24 - Oct. 22, 2021, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Social-Ecological-Technological Systems (SETS) Convergence Research Network partnered with the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) to facilitate the NYC Climate Adaptation Scenarios workshop series, a...

Agricultural communities and crop production are negatively impacted by invasive species, with the effects of pathogenic fungi, parasitic insects and weedy plants being well studied. Mammals and birds are also recognized as impacting crops, but reptiles, such as non-native green iguanas (Iguana iguana), are typically not considered agricultural pests. Research on non-native green iguanas has largely focused on the lizard’s interactions with native species with little attention given to its impact in the agricultural landscape. We conducted semi-structured interviews with farmers from 20...

El volumen 33 de 2022 de Acta Científica: Una revista transdisciplinaria de Puerto Rico y el Caribe (AC-PuR&C) es especial ya que rinde honores, muy humildes, al legado e inspiración que un extraordinario gigante de nuestro entorno natural – doctor Frank Howard Wadsworth (26 de noviembre de 1915 – 5 de enero de 2022) – nos deja a inicios de este año. Un visionario, irradiante de rectitud, honestidad y entereza ante la adversidad (viniera de donde viniera), don Frank facilitó gran parte de la transfiguración de paisajes naturales en Puerto Rico que, desde mucho tiempo, estaban sujetos al...

Farmers, forest owners, and rural communities are among the groups most exposed to the effects and associated impacts of hurricanes and other extreme climate events in the Caribbean. Yet, little is known about their preparedness for or their capacity to respond to and recover from these disturbances. We conducted qualitative research involving focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with 152 farmers, forest owners, and agriculture and forest experts in Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands to understand the effects and associated impacts of hurricanes Irma and María at farm,...

Hurricanes are expected to intensify throughout the 21st century, yet the impact of frequent major hurricanes on tropical ecosystems remains unknown. To investigate tropical forest damage and recovery under different hurricane regimes, we generate a suite of scenarios based on Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 climate projections and increased hurricane recurrence and intensity for the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. We then use the Ecosystem Demography model to predict changes in carbon stocks, forest structure and composition. Our results indicate that frequent...