Sampling of plots in three major forest types that differed by flooding duration after 4 years of regeneration showed: (1) common species exist between wet forests and their gaps and between wet and very wet gaps, (2) tree richness is maximum in dry forest and minimum in very wet gaps except in the wet gaps that show the second highest number of species, (3) there were less stems in gaps compared to forests and less stems in forests as flooding increased, except again in the wet gaps, and (4) dominance-diversity curves have more dominance by single species in the dry gap plots compared to other gaps and in dry forest compared to other forests. In general while some aspects of structure such as tree stem density is largely determined by tree-fall gap dynamics, tree composition is determined by flooding regime. Finally a jump in tree richness in wet forests and wet gaps compared to other plots suggests a “mass effects” hypothesis where species from dry and very wet forest and gaps have overlapping ranges in the wet forest and gap. This effect may help explain the high species diversity seen in this part of the Amazon

Soil fungal communities respond to multiple abiotic and biotic factors that change along elevation gradients. This study documents changes in fungal and bacterial diversity, and abundance and composition of microbial functional groups along a subtropical elevation gradient. The elevation gradient is located in eastern Puerto Rico and is composed of five forest types each with characteristic vegetation. Soil samples were collected every three months from March 2003 thru March 2005. Soil fungal and bacterial communities were analyzed using fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and TRFLP profiles. Diversity in this elevation gradient is higher at mid-elevations. Most G negative and G positive bacterial FAME were positively related to soil pH in MLR models, lower pH in mid-elevation forest soil may suppress bacteria favoring fungi. These data can be used as a benchmark for monitoring changes in microbial communities along elevation gradients caused by natural and anthropogenic disturbances, as well as global and regional climate changes.

Studies of seedlings and saplings are and have been conducted on several landslides and plots on the LEF. The primary purposes are to study seedling recruitment and seedling and sapling growth and the effect of hurricane disturbance (specifically Hugo) on these processes as related to the degree of canopy disturbance, and the temporary reduction in shade from the defoliation of the canopy under distinct soil conditions.

9Ha Study

The primary purpose of this study is to look at seedling recruitment, and the growth of seedlings and saplings as it relates to the degree of canopy disturbance caused by Hurricane Hugo. Although all trees down to 1-cm dbh will eventually be identified and measured for the separate 16-ha grid project, the smallest trees will not be measured for at least a year, and seedling will not be included in the 16-ha grid program. The seedling/sapling plots in the 9-ha grid will allow us to follow early responses of seedlings and saplings to increased light. Tree maps for the 16-ha grid which will encompass the 9-ha grid) will eventually be used to determine the proximity of seed-source trees to each plot.

Treefall Pits Study

In this study, I compared seedling and sapling dynamics in soil pits and undisturbed forest floor, were both environment has experienced a temporary reduction in shade from the defoliation of the canopy during Hurricane Hugo (September 1989) but had soil conditions that were distinct. Soil pits were chosen as the microsite within the treefall gap most likely to differ in soil characteristics from the adjacent forest and most likely to alter plant establishment patterns. Soil mounds, important sites of establishment in some temperate forests (Webb 1999), erode quickly under the high rainfall conditions in Puerto Rico and were not considered in this study. I asked the following questions: (1) how does the soil physical environment differ between the soil pit and the forest floor?; (2) do tree species that have N-fixing symbionts influence soil nutrients or species composition of colonizers?, and (3) what are the consequences of uprooting and defoliation for populations of seedlings and saplings and for tree recruitment?

The processes that determine the plant species diversity and structure of tropical forest are still uncertain despite many years of investigation. A tropical forest characteristically has few common species and many rare species, with conspecifics often widely distributed throughout the forest. The potential for inter and intra-specific interactions are numerous, and it is difficult to determine which factors maintain species diversity or how rare species survive in the population. Factors that we believe contribute to tropical forest structure and composition include the physical environment and past history of the forest, species-specific physiological requirements for light, nutrients and water necessary for growth, survival and reproduction, and pathogens and herbivores. Despite the substantial amount of information available about these factors, we are still unable to accurately model the current composition of tropical forest or to predict its future response to human and natural disturbances.

The Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot (LFDP), previously known as the Hurricane Recovery Plot (Zimmerman et. al. 1994) and the Luquillo long-term ecological research grid (Soil Survey 1995), is a 16-ha forest plot (SW corner 18° 20' N, 65° 49' W) located near El Verde Field Station. The plot is 500 m N-S and 320 m E-W and is divided into 400 20 x 20 m quadrats, with each quadrat sub divided into 16 5 x 5 m sub-quadrats. The field station and LFDP are in the Luquillo Mountains of northeastern Puerto Rico, approximately 35 km southeast of San Juan. Information from the LFDP contributes to the efforts of the Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS, Smithsonian) network of large tropical forest plots in order to improve our understanding of tropical forest and to predict its future. Large plots (typically 50 ha) are required to cover local environmental variation, include sufficient numbers of individuals of both the common and rare species, and to determine plant spatial relationships. Population monitoring is required over many years to elucidate tree life histories, species interactions and population changes in order to determine the forest response to environmental changes and disturbance.

The LFDP is unique among the CTFS sites as it has a history of land use disturbance and also hurricane damage. These two disturbance types interact and influence the community dynamics and species composition in the LFDP. The Northern area (approximately two thirds of the plot) was disturbed by tree felling and farming until 1934 when the land was purchased by United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The Southern third was not farmed and only suffered relatively light disturbance from selective logging. Aerial photographs taken in 1936 show differences in canopy cover caused by the patterns of land use history. Clear patterns in the distribution of some species reflect this land use history (Thompson et. al. in press). . The distribution of species as a result of the land use history interacts with hurricane disturbance, as those species colonizing the northern part of the LFDP are more susceptible to hurricane damage (Zimmerman et. al. 1994). Major hurricanes struck the forest area of the LFDP in 1928 and 1932 and after a 66 year period with relatively little hurricane damage, the forest was struck by Hurricane Hugo struck in 1998 and Hurricane Georges in 1989, both hurricanes causing significant damage.