Geographic and Ecological Setting of the Luquillo Mountains

McDowell, W. H.; Scatena, F. N.; Waide, Robert B.; Brokaw, Nicholas; Camilo, Gerardo R.; Covich, Alan P.; Crowl, Todd A.; González, Grizelle; Greathouse, Effie A.; Klawinski, Paul D.; Lodge, David; Lugo, Ariel E.; Pringle, C. M.; Richardson, Barbara A.; Richardson, Mike; Schaefer, Douglas; Silver, Whendee L.; Thompson, Jacqueline; Vogt, Daniel J.; Vogt, Kristina; Willig, Michael R.; Woolbright, Lawrence L.; Zou, Xiaoming; Zimmerman, Jess K.

doi:10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780195334692.003.0003

Cited by 34 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 190 publications

(396 reference statements)

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“…concentrations increased and then took up to (mg/kg) 2 years to return to pre-hurricane levels in the lowerelevation forest (Schaefer et al 2000). The response trajectory was even more pronounced in high-elevation forest, with return of stream chemistry to baseline conditions taking about a decade (McDowell et al 2013). Similarly, groundwater solutes at our lower elevation site spiked after the hurricane and gradually declined, with mineral N returning to pre-hurricane levels after 2 years, but most base cations and anions recovering after 3-5.5 years .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Nitrogen additions mobilize soil base cations in two tropical forests

2016

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…?18.3°, Long. -65.8°), an NSFsponsored Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) and Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) site in northeastern Puerto Rico (Harris et al 2012;McDowell et al 2012). This study was conducted in two distinct tropical forests at lower and upper elevations in the LEF (site maps shown in McDowell et al 1992).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen additions mobilize soil base cations in two tropical forests

2016

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“…The wettest periods are April-May and September-November (McDowell et al, 2012). Diurnal and mean annual air temperatures above the canopy are 21-25°C (Odum et al, 1970;McDowell et al, 2012). There are two main peaks of leaf fall observed in this forest (April-May and August-September), which coincide with the periods of major solar radiation at this latitude (Zalamea and González, 2008).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 96%

“…Mean annual rainfall at EVFS is 3592 mm (SD = 829; LTER climate data: http://luq.lternet.edu/data/). Rainfall is weakly seasonal, with relatively less rain falling between January and March than the rest of the year; monthly rainfall rarely averages < 200 mm (Zimmerman et al, 2007;McDowell et al, 2012). The wettest periods are April-May and September-November (McDowell et al, 2012).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rainfall is weakly seasonal, with relatively less rain falling between January and March than the rest of the year; monthly rainfall rarely averages < 200 mm (Zimmerman et al, 2007;McDowell et al, 2012). The wettest periods are April-May and September-November (McDowell et al, 2012). Diurnal and mean annual air temperatures above the canopy are 21-25°C (Odum et al, 1970;McDowell et al, 2012).…”

Section: Study Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the key mechanisms of tropical forest responses to canopy loss and biomass deposition from experimental hurricane effects

Shiels¹,

González

2014

Forest Ecology and Management

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a b s t r a c tTo date, it is not clear which are the factors that most influence tropical forest recovery from hurricanes. Increased canopy openness and increased detritus (debris) deposition are two of the most likely factors, but due to their simultaneous occurrence during a hurricane, their relative effects cannot be separated without a manipulative experiment. Hence, in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) of Puerto Rico, the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program (LTER) has undertaken experimental manipulations in replicated 30 Â 30 m plots to simulate the major effects of hurricane disturbance-increased canopy openness and debris addition to the forest floor. Using a factorial experiment enabled investigation of the separate and combined effects of canopy opening and debris on this wet tropical forest; the experimental outcomes may help direct forest management decisions in similar disturbance-prone environments. In this first article of the special issue, we (1) provide details of the design and methodology for this manipulative experiment (the Canopy Trimming Experiment, CTE), (2) report some principal abiotic responses to treatments, and (3) introduce the subject areas of the 12 additional CTE manuscripts in this special issue. The physical conditions created by canopy and understory treatment and the amounts of debris added to CTE plots were similar to the LEF's conditions following Hurricane Hugo (a category 4 storm) in 1989; although more wood and a 37% (1.5 cm) deeper litter layer was present in the CTE. Our selective cutting and removal of the forest canopy above 3 m, which included trimming 234 palm trees and 342 non-palm trees, greatly altered the understory micro-environment by increasing light levels and decreasing litter moisture for 18 months; throughfall and soil moisture were elevated in trim plots for 3 months. In plots where the canopy was trimmed and the debris (6 kg m À2) was added to the forest floor, the canopy debris persisted on the forest floor for at least 4 years; debris decomposed more quickly in plots with intact canopies. The diverse collection of papers in this special issue provide mechanistic understandings of response patterns of tropical forest biota (microbes, plants, animals) and processes (decomposition, herbivory, nutrient cycling, primary production) to canopy and understory disturbance that resembles a major (Pcategory 3) hurricane. Although measurements for this experiment are ongoing to further identify the mechanisms of long-term forest change resulting from hurricanes, we include findings up to the first seven years post-treatment at this time.Published by Elsevier B.V.

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Critical zone structure controls concentration‐discharge relationships and solute generation in forested tropical montane watersheds

Wymore

Brereton

Ibarra

et al. 2017

Water Resources Research

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Concentration‐discharge (C‐Q) relationships are poorly known for tropical watersheds, even though the tropics contribute a disproportionate amount of solutes to the global ocean. The Luquillo Mountains in Puerto Rico offer an ideal environment to examine C‐Q relationships across a heterogeneous tropical landscape. We use 10–30 years of weekly stream chemistry data across 10 watersheds to examine C‐Q relationships for weathering products (SiO2(aq), Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+) and biologically controlled solutes (dissolved organic carbon [DOC], dissolved organic nitrogen [DON], NH4+, NO3–, PO43–, K+, and SO42–). We analyze C‐Q relationships using power law equations and a solute production model and use principal component analysis to test hypotheses regarding how the structure of the critical zone controls solute generation. Volcaniclastic watersheds had higher concentrations of weathering solutes and smaller tributaries were approximately threefold more efficient at generating these solutes than larger rivers. Lithology and vegetation explained a significant amount of variation in the theoretical maximum concentrations of weathering solutes (r2 = 0.43–0.48) and in the C‐Q relationships of PO43– (r2 = 0.63) and SiO2(aq) (r2 = 0.47). However, the direction and magnitude of these relationships varied. Across watersheds, various forms of N and P displayed variable C‐Q relationships, while DOC was consistently enriched with increasing discharge. Results suggest that PO43– may be a useful indicator of watershed function. Relationships between C‐Q and landscape characteristics indicate the extent to which the structure and function of the Critical zone controls watershed solute fluxes.

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Geographic and Ecological Setting of the Luquillo Mountains

Cited by 34 publications

References 190 publications

Nitrogen additions mobilize soil base cations in two tropical forests

Nitrogen additions mobilize soil base cations in two tropical forests

Understanding the key mechanisms of tropical forest responses to canopy loss and biomass deposition from experimental hurricane effects

Critical zone structure controls concentration‐discharge relationships and solute generation in forested tropical montane watersheds

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