Puerto Rico - United States
The Role of Nurse Trees in Mitigating Fire Effects on Tropical Dry Forest Restoration: A Case StudyBackgroundThe authors of this study initially studied differential growth rates in a reforestation project of native tree species with nurse trees(Leucaena leucocephala) and without nurse trees when the area had two fire events. However, authors took advantage of the unplanned experiment to study the effects of fire in reforestation. Available with subscription or purchase |
Evaluación comparativa de dos mitigaciones realizadas en la ciénaga Las Cucharillas, Puerto Rico (Wetland mitigation in Puerto Rico)Open access copy available |
Bioecologia de Arboles Nativos y Exoticos de Puerto Rico and Las Indias Occidentales (Silvics of Native and Exotic Trees of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands)EspañolSobreEsta base de datos fue publicada en Junio del 2000 por el USDA y el US Forest Service como recurso para la identificación y propagación de árboles nativos y exóticos de Puerto Rico y el Caribe. Open access copy available |
The Apparent Paradox of Reestablishing Species Richness on Degraded Lands with Tree MonoculturesbackgroundThis article discusses the use of tropical tree plantations as an approach to rehabilitation of degraded landscapes. For extremely degraded sites, the use of plantations may provide the proper shade, microclimate and protection for other species to colonize the understory. Research on the use of plantations in restoration is discussed, with examples primarily from Puerto Rico. Open access copy available |
Forest Regeneration in a Chronosequence of Tropical Abandoned Pastures: Implications for Restoration EcologyBackgroundDuring the mid‐1900s, most of the island of Puerto Rico was deforested, but a shift in the economy from agriculture to small industry beginning in the 1950s resulted in the abandonment of agricultural lands and recovery of secondary forest. This research examines the natural regeneration patterns on these abandoned agricultural lands in four different regions of Puerto Rico. Available with subscription or purchase |
Carbon Sequestration and Plant Community Dynamics Following Reforestation of Tropical PastureBackgroundConversion of abandoned cattle pasture to secondary forest in the tropics is a potential means to increase carbon sequestration as well as to enhance local biodiversity. This study uses data from a long-term tropical reforestation project – Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico – to estimate rates of above- and belowground carbon sequestration. Open access copy available |
Influence of Overstory Composition on Understory Colonization by Native Species in Plantations on a Degraded Tropical SitebackgroundThis study evaluates forest understory regeneration in a 4.5 year-old plantation in Puerto Rico. The plantations, established in 1989, were planted on abandoned pasture in mixtures or monocultures of three exotic species: Casuarina equisetifolia, Eucalyptus robusta, and Leucaena leucocephala. Available with subscription or purchase |
Soil organic matter dynamics during 80 years of reforestation of tropical pasturesBackgroundLand disturbance affects soil physical and chemical properties. Some properties may be recovered over long periods of reforestation. Mosaic-pattern landscapes with shifting usages over time, common in the mountainous tropics, can reveal dynamic soil properties. This study reports on changes in soil carbon over 80 years of secondary forest growth on abandoned pasture over a chronosequence in Puerto Rico. Open access copy available |
