Emerging forests on abandoned land: Puerto Rico’s new forests

Ariel Lugo; Eileen Helmer

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2003.09.012

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Emerging forests on abandoned land: Puerto Rico’s new forests

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Ariel Lugo, Eileen Helmer

Year:

2004

Type:

Miscellaneous Publication

Station:

International Institute of Tropical Forestry

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2003.09.012

Source:

Forest Ecology and Management 190 :145–161

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Abstract

The species composition of forests change continuously as the earth’s biota evolves and adjusts to environmental change. Humans are accelerating the rate of species turnover by moving species around the planet and dramatically changing environmental conditions. Our focus is on new forests in Puerto Rico that emerge naturally on abandoned lands previously converted to agriculture and degraded. These forest stands have combinations of species that are new to the island’s landscapes. New forests exhibit high species dominance during forest establishment, which includes dominance by alien tree species. These alien tree species establish and maintain forest cover, which may facilitate regeneration of native tree species. Landscape analysis and literature review revealed that these emerging stands are highly fragmented (60% were

Keywords

Puerto Rico’s forest, Species turnover, Unconverted forestlands, Tropical forests, Succession, Degraded lands, Alien species

Citation

Lugo, Ariel E.; Helmer, Eileen. 2004. Emerging forests on abandoned land: Puerto Rico’s new forests. Forest Ecology and Management 190 :145–161