Long‐term hurricane damage effects on tropical forest tree growth and mortality

Abstract

Abstract. Hurricane winds can have large impacts on forest structure and dynamics. To date, most evaluations of hurricane impacts have focused on short-term responses after a hurricane, often lacked pre-hurricane measurements, and missed responses occurring over longer time scales. Here, we use a long-term data set 35 years) of tree stems (.3 cm in diameter at 1.3 m aboveground) in four sites (0.35 ha in total) in montane rain forest (;1600 m elevation) in Jamaica to investigate the patterns of crown damage in individual stems by Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, and how subsequent growth and mortality were affected by hurricane damage, sprouting, and the incidence of multiple stems. Topographical position on a mountain ridge was the best predictor of crown damage, followed by crown size and species identity. The average diameter growth rate of stems that survived the hurricane was greater than that pre-hurricane for the whole 21-yr post-hurricane period. Growth rates of stems with damaged crowns increased less than those with undamaged crowns; differences in growth rate between damaged and undamaged trees disappeared after 11 years. Hurricanedamaged stems had two to eight times higher mortality than undamaged stems for 19 years post hurricane. Many stems sprouted shortly after the hurricane, but few sprouts managed to establish (grow to .3 cm diameter at breast height). However, sprouting and multi-stemming were associated with reduced mortality rate, particularly in damaged trees. From an initial population of 1670 stems in 1974, 54% were still alive in 2009 (21 years after the hurricane). We conclude that despite the high frequency of hurricane damage to tree crowns and the subsequent increased mortality rate in this hurricane-prone tropical montane forest, many stems will be hit and recover from several hurricanes in their lifetime.

Tree Age Distributions Reveal Large-Scale Disturbance-Recovery Cycles in Three Tropical Forests

“…Disturbances are increasingly being recognized as important drivers of tropical forest dynamics (e.g., Newbery et al, 2013; Tanner et al, 2014). Early studies on tropical forests focused on the importance of gap-phase dynamics, caused by frequent small-scale disturbances resulting from the death of one or a few trees, typically affecting several hundreds of square meters of forest (Denslow, 1980; Brokaw, 1985).…”

Is tropical montane forest heterogeneity promoted by a resource‐driven feedback cycle? Evidence from nutrient relations, herbivory and litter decomposition along a topographical gradient

“…) or frequent wind‐throw caused by greater exposure to wind turbulence (Lawton ; Webb, Stanfield & Jensen ; Tanner et al . ) or a combination of these factors, yet evidence is scarce and ambivalent. However, if topographical vegetation contrasts are due to differences in nutrient availability, they should also affect key ecological processes such as herbivory, decomposition and hence nutrient and carbon cycling.…”

Altered dynamics of broad‐leaved tree species in a Chinese subtropical montane mixed forest: the role of an anomalous extreme 2008 ice storm episode

“…2010), but is in line with some recent observations in other forests (Tanner et al. 2014). Our finding was surprising because ice storm likely reduced tree vigor as evident from higher postice storm mortality.…”