Abstract
ABSTRACT 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.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Hurricane mortality was 5.2 percent per year after 21 months, over seven times background mortality.
Verbatim
e0“Hurricane induced mortality after 21 mo was 5.2 percent/yr, more than seven times higher than background mortality levels during the nonhurricane periods”
t0“uprooted trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Tree species differed greatly in mortality and damage.
Verbatim
e0“Species differed greatly in their mortality and damage patterns”
t0“uprooted trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Tree damage had no relationship with wood density.
Verbatim
e0“there was no relationship between damage and wood density or biogeographic origin”
t0“uprooted trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Tree damage had no relationship with biogeographic origin.
Verbatim
e0“there was no relationship between damage and wood density or biogeographic origin”
t0“uprooted trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Faster-growing tree species had greater hurricane damage.
Verbatim
e0“damage for a given species was correlated with mean annual increment, with faster growing species experiencing greater damage”
t0“uprooted trees”
Claim · model-written summary
Larger trees suffered more hurricane damage.
Verbatim
e0“larger trees suffering more damage”
Claim · model-written summary
Trees on ridges received more damage than trees on slopes.
Verbatim
e0“Trees on ridges and in valleys received greater damage than trees on slopes”
Claim · model-written summary
Trees in valleys received more damage than trees on slopes.
Verbatim
e0“Trees on ridges and in valleys received greater damage than trees on slopes”
Claim · model-written summary
Previous hurricane damage was strongly related to current structural damage.
Not reportedDirection
Verbatim
e0“A strong relationship was noted between previous hurricane damage and present structural damage”
t0“uprooted trees”