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Modeling Hurricane Exposure in a Caribbean Lower Montane Tropical Wet Forest: The Effects of Frequent, Intermediate Disturbances and Topography on Forest Structural Dynamics and Composition

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Abstract

Frequent intermediate disturbances can produce qualitatively different spatial heterogeneity and environmental variability than large infrequent disturbances, which facilitates the coexistence of disparate species types. We hypothesized that species coexistence will be maximized at sites exposed to recurring hurricanes with intermediate frequencies and effects. Consequently, we sought to determine if exposure vulnerability (EV) from three hurricanes with intermediate effects and frequencies (Ivan-2004, Dennis-2005 and Dean-2007), or the interaction between exposure and topography, could be used to explain forest structural dynamics and composition. We used data obtained in 2006 and 2012 from within 45, 25 × 25 m (2.8125 ha) permanent sample plots, established according to a randomized block design, and stratified according to elevation and aspect/sites (NE and SW facing ridges) in a tropical montane wet forest, John Crow Mountains, Jamaica. There was a significant reduction in basal area (BA) (14%), tree volume (10%), and density (26%) and there was a negative shift in the height profile of trees. Understory light (2008), stem density, and mortality increased with EV but decreased with aspect. The NE aspect/sites had higher EV after Dean and the other hurricanes. Consequently, BA, volume and density increased significantly for light-demanding species at the NE sites, but declined significantly overall with minimal changes at SW sites. Moreover, diversity was significantly higher at sites with higher EV for the three hurricanes. The frequent hurricanes with intermediate effects may have therefore maintained/increased spatial heterogeneity, which promoted the coexistence of species with disparate life histories at more exposed sites.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the Rufford Foundation, the International Foundation for Science, the Wildlife Conservation Society and The Environmental Foundation of Jamaica for providing financial assistance for plot establishment and the 2006 assessments. The Jamaica Protected Area Trust (Forest Conservation Fund) provided financial assistance for the 2012 assessments. We would also like to also thank our field assistant Mr. Kirk Lewis and our other field guides who assisted with plot establishment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica

    Denneko Luke, Kurt McLaren & Byron Wilson

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  1. Denneko Luke
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  2. Kurt McLaren
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  3. Byron Wilson
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Correspondence to Kurt McLaren.

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Author contributions D.L. preformed the research and analyzed the data and wrote the paper. K.M. conceived of and designed the study, secured funding (PI), provided supervision, assisted with data interpretation, developed the EV method and generated the EV maps, checked DL’s analyses for spatial autocorrelation and reviewed and edited the manuscript. B.W. helped to secure funding (Co-PI) and also edited the manuscript.

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Luke, D., McLaren, K. & Wilson, B. Modeling Hurricane Exposure in a Caribbean Lower Montane Tropical Wet Forest: The Effects of Frequent, Intermediate Disturbances and Topography on Forest Structural Dynamics and Composition. Ecosystems 19, 1178–1195 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-016-9993-y

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