Factors affecting mortality and resistance to damage following hurricanes in a rehabilitated subtropical moist forest

• Published in: Biotropica 2005-03, Vol.37 (1), p.16-24
• Main Authors: Ostertag, R, Silver, W.L, Lugo, A.E
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: biological resistance; Branches; disturbance; disturbance history; ecological restoration; Experimental forests; Forest canopy; forest damage; forest disturbance; Forest regeneration; forest trees; forests; hurricane damage; Hurricane Georges; Hurricanes; mean annual increment; Mortality; previous hurricane damage; resilience; resistance; Storm damage; Storms; subtropics; topography; tree and stand measurements; tree damage; tree growth; tree mortality; tree size; Trees; Tropical Biology; Tropical forests
• ISSN: 0006-3606; 1744-7429
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2005.04052.x

The ability to resist hurricane damage is a property of both individuals and communities, and can have strong effects on the structure and function of many tropical forests. We examined the relative importance of tree size, species, biogeographic origin, local topography, and damage from previous storms in long-term permanent plots in a rehabilitated subtropical moist forest in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Georges in order to better predict patterns of resistance. Severe damage included uprooted trees, snapped stems, or crowns with greater than 50 percent branch loss. Hurricane induced mortality after 21 mo was 5.2 percent/yr, more than seven times higher than background mortality levels during the nonhurricane periods. Species differed greatly in their mortality and damage patterns, but there was no relationship between damage and wood density or biogeographic origin. Rather, damage for a given species was correlated with mean annual increment, with faster growing species experiencing greater damage, suggesting that growth rate may reflect a variety of life history tradeoffs. Size was also predictive of damage, with larger trees suffering more damage. Trees on ridges and in valleys received greater damage than trees on slopes. A strong relationship was noted between previous hurricane damage and present structural damage, which could not solely be explained by the patterns with size and species. We suggest that resistance of trees to hurricane damage is therefore not only correlated with individual and species characteristics but also with past disturbance history, which suggests that in interpreting the effects of hurricanes on forest structure, individual storms cannot be treated as discrete, independent events. /// La habilidad de resistir daños causados por un huracán es una propiedad común de individuos y comunidades, y puede tener efectos marcados en la estructura y función de muchos bosques tropicales. Con el fin de predecir mejor los patrones de resistencia, nosotros examinamos la importancia relativa del tamaño de los árboles, las especies, el origen biogeográfico, la topografia local y el daño por tormentas pasadas en parcelas permanentes de largo plazo en un bosque rehabilitado subtropical húmedo en Puerto Rico, luego del paso del huracán Georges. Las daños severos incluyeron árboles con raíces socavadas, tallos rotos y/o doseles con pérdida de ramas mayor del 50 por ciento. La mortalidad inducida por el huracán después de 21 meses fue de 5.