The Luquillo Experimental Forest: A Neotropical example of the interaction between forest conservation and long-term ecological research
| Authors: | Ariel E. Lugo |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Type: | Book Chapter |
| Station: | International Institute of Tropical Forestry |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66933-1_5 |
Abstract
The origins of the Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research Program are traced through four historical trends that still influence research activity in Puerto Rico’s Luquillo Mountains: (1) A history of identifying lands for protection and their designation for public uses; (2) A history of governmental and non-governmental institutions acting with the foresight to pursue scientific research for the benefit of economic development and the will to support scientific activity; (3) The uninterrupted progression of scientific activity through projects and programs that cumulatively developed a knowledge base that supported succeeding projects and programs; (4) The excellence of the individual scientific talent that participated in research in this location over the last 200 years. These historical trends took place within the context of four time intervals: (1) Discovery and colonization of Puerto Rico (1493 to 1898); (2) The negotiation of the Paris Treaty in 1898, which transferred Puerto Rico to the United States of America and led to the Scientific Survey of Puerto Rico (1913 to 1957); (3) Development of tropical forestry and ecosystem-level research through the establishment of the USDA Forest Service Tropical Forest Experiment Station in 1939 and the funding of radio-ecological and ecological research by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy from 1963 to 1988 (1939 to 1988); (4) Funding of multiple research programs, including the Luquillo LTER, by the National Science Foundation (1989 to the present). This history demonstrates how advancing scientific understanding of tropical ecosystems benefited science, society, and the conservation of Neotropical natural resources.