Missing the Trees for the Forest: Post-Hurricane Understory Vegetation in Relation to Spatial Variation
| Authors: | N.M. Soto-Parrilla, Tamara Heartsill Scalley |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Type: | Scientific Journal |
| Station: | International Institute of Tropical Forestry |
| Source: | Acta Cientifica |
Abstract
Within a forest, differences in landform spatial variation (i.e., geomorphic settings: valley, slope, and ridge) could affect the species richness and distribution present at a particular site. Previous studies have confirmed that plant species richness and biomass changes after a hurricane and such values can vary among geomorphic settings. Understory vegetation, including ferns, herbs, climbers, graminoids, and shrubs, accounts for more than two thirds of flora in tropical ecosystems, but there is limited information of the effect of hurricanes on these communities. We evaluated the structure and composition of understory vegetation in a post-hurricane forest in relation to geomorphic settings. This study was conducted in El Verde Research Area in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. We established 1-m2 plots within three geomorphic settings: riparian valley, slope, and ridge. Within each plot we identified species, estimated percent of cover, and collected biomass samples. Additionally, we estimated species accumulation curves and analyzed species composition among geomorphic settings using multivariate ordination. The relative species abundance of vegetation life-forms was similar among geomorphic settings, but graminoids and climbers exhibited differences in species composition. Higher forest understory biomass and percent vegetation cover was observed at this immediate post-hurricane period than what was reported pre-hurricane. The understory of valley areas had a more distinct species composition than what was observed among ridge and slope areas. The understory vegetation patterns observed would need to be followed through time and among the landforms to confirm the hurricane disturbances effects at these understory scale.