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The Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot

The Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot. 16 ha in size Establish in 1990 to monitor forest dynamics due to hurricane disturbance Part of pantropical network of similar plots coordinated by CTFS Goal is to understand factors which determine tropical forest biodiversity.

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The Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot

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  1. The Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot • 16 ha in size • Establish in 1990 to monitor forest dynamics due to hurricane disturbance • Part of pantropical network of similar plots coordinated by CTFS • Goal is to understand factors which determine tropical forest biodiversity

  2. A life history approach has proven useful to understand hurricane-driven forest dynamics • Strong correlations among hurricane morality and wood density and shade tolerance • SORTIE, a spatially specific model of these dynamics directly incorporates these trade-offs (Uriarte, Canham) • Ongoing effort to develop functional trait databases and phylogeny (Swenson)

  3. The LFDP has a history of human land use, • which allows us to study interactions between • disturbance types • Human activities (logging, agriculture) through the 1940s • caused variation in species composition • Forest with most human disturbance suffers higher hurricane disturbance • SORTIE predicts land use legacy will diminish as species become intermingled throughout the plot Years

  4. CTFS cross-site studies show common attributes of tropical forests • Diversity enhancement (e.g., Janzen-Connell effects) is common • Gap specialization and other forms of niche diversification only partially explain high • diversity • Neutral Theory fails to explain diversity • patterns Borneo Malaysia Panama Sri Lanka Thailand Puerto India Rico

  5. Studies of flower and • seed fall and seedling dynamics show that: • Reproductive phenologies are • determined by seasonal patterns • of irradiance, not rainfall, in all • but the driest forests • Long-term trends in flower production suggest anthropogenic influences • Dispersal limitation is common • Density-dependent recruitment is common

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