Vegetation Dynamics of a Permanent Pasture Plot in Puerto Rico

Abstract

I set up a 250 m2 plot and found after five years that (1) grass dominated by ferns and woody species was gradually increasing over time; (2) woody genera (Syzygium, Calophyllum, and Clidemia) common here have not been found elsewhere on the island and ‘‘successional’’ trees, such as Cecropia sp. and Shefflera sp., were completely absent; (3) smaller, earlier trees were also found away from the forest; and (4) the plot had multiple strata and was recovering forest structural characteristics such as productivity and richness.

Citation

Myster, R. 2003. Vegetation Dynamics of a Permanent Pasture Plot in Puerto Rico. BIOTROPICA 35(3): 422–428