Frederick N. Scatena

Tropical Montane Cloud Forests

Tropical montane cloud forests are regions of high biodiversity occurring as narrow altitudinal belts in the tropics. This ecosystem is adapted to high frequency of cloud immersion and extraction of cloud water. The process is especially important in the dry season and even to settlements downstream for regular water supply. However, both global and regional processes can impact the hydrometeorology of these forests. While the impacts of global climate are nearly impossible to predict, historical bottom–up regional studies should be conducted immediately at all sites not yet studied to evaluate their sensitivity to changes in regional hydrometeorological processes.

Physical aspects of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico

On 18 September 1989 the western part of Hurricane Hugo crossed eastern Puerto Rico and the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF). Storm-facing slopes on the northeastern part of the island that were within 15 km of the eye and received greater than 200 mm of rain were most affected by the storm. In the LEF and nearby area, recurrence intervals associated with Hurricane Hugo were 50 yr for wind velocity, 10 to 31 yr for stream discharge, and 5 yr for rainfall intensity. To compare the magnitudes of the six hurricanes to pass over Puerto Rico since 1899, 3 indices were developed using the standardized values of the product of: the maximum sustained wind speed at San Juan squared and storm duration; the square of the product of the maximum sustained wind velocity at San Juan and the ratio of the distance between the hurricane eye and San Juan to the distance between the eye and percentage of average annual rainfall delivered by the storm. Based on these indices, Hurricane Hugo was of moderate intensity. However, because of the path of Hurricane Hugo, only one of these six storms (the 1932 storm) caused more damage to the LEF than Hurricane Hugo. Hurricanes of Hugos magnitude are estimated to pass over the LEF once every

Effects of a low-head dam and water abstraction on migratory tropical stream biota

Migration of large-bodied “macroconsumers” (e.g., fishes, shrimps, and snails) is an important functional linkage between many tropical rivers and their estuaries. Increasingly, this linkage is being severed by dams and water abstraction. The ecological impacts of these activities are poorly understood and are largely being ignored by dam operators. We investigated the direct effects of a water intake and low-head dam on the migration of amphidromous freshwater shrimps between the headwater streams and estuary of the Rio Espiritu Santo, Puerto Rico, USA. Both downstream migratory drift of larvae and upstream migration of postlarvae had strong diel patterns, with most activity occurring at night. Unlike large dams on the island, this low-head dam did not act as a complete barrier to the upstream migration of metamorphosed postlarvae. However, the dam did cause large numbers of postlarval shrimps to accumulate directly downstream of the structure. Mortality of drifting first-stage larvae by entrainment into...

Geomorphology, disturbance, and the soil and vegetation of two subtropical wet steepland watersheds of Puerto Rico

Abstract Relationships between landforms, soil nutrients, forest structure, and the relative importance of different disturbances were quantified in two subtropical wet steepland watersheds in Puerto Rico. Ridges had fewer landslides and treefall gaps, more above-ground biomass, older aged stands, and greater species richness than other landscape positions. Ridge soils had relatively low quantities of exchangeable bases but high soil organic matter, acidity and exchangeable iron. Valley sites had higher frequencies of disturbance, less biomass, younger aged stands, lower species richness and soils with more exchangeable bases. Soil N, P, and K were distributed relatively independently of geomorphic setting, but were significantly related to the composition and age of vegetation. On a watershed basis, hurricanes were the dominant natural disturbance in the turnover of individuals, biomass, and forest canopy. However, turnover by the mortality of individuals that die without creating canopy openings was faster than the turnover by any natural disturbance. Only in riparian areas was forest turnover by treefall gaps faster than turnover by hurricanes. The same downslope mass transfer that links soil forming processes across the landscape also influences the distribution of landslides, treefall gaps, and the structure and composition of the forest. One consequence of these interactions is that the greatest above-ground biomass occurs on ridges where the soil nutrient pools are the smallest. Geomorphic stability, edaphic conditions, and biotic adaptations apparently override the importance of spatial variations in soil nutrients in the accumulation of above-ground biomass at this site.

Fine litterfall and related nutrient inputs resulting from Hurricane Hugo in subtropical wet and lower montane rain forests of Puerto Rico

On 18 September 1989 Hurricane Hugo defoliated large forested areas of northeastern Puerto Rico. In two severely damaged subtropical wet forest sites, a mean of 1006-1083 g/m2, or 419-451 times the mean daily input of fine litter (leaves, small wood, and miscellaneous debris) was deposited on the forest floor. An additional 928 g/m2 of litter was suspended above the ground. A lower montane rain forest site received 682 times the mean daily fine litterfall. The concentrations of N and P in the hurricane leaf litter ranged from 1.1 to 1.5 and 1.7 to 3.3 times the concentrations of N and P in normal leaffall, respectively. In subtropical wet forest, fine litterfall from the hurricane contained 1.3 and 1.5-2.4 times the mean annual litterfall inputs of N and P, respectively. These sudden high nutrient inputs apparently altered nutrient cycling.

Nutrient availability in a montane wet tropical forest: Spatial patterns and methodological considerations

Soils and forest floor were sampled quantitatively from a montane wet tropical forest in Puerto Rico to determine the spatial variability of soil nutrients, the factors controlling nutrient availability to vegetation, and the distribution of nutrients in soil and plants. Exchangeable cation concentrations were measured using different soil extracting procedures (fresh soil with NH4Cl, air-dried and ground soil with KCl, and a Modified Olsen solution) to establish a range of nutrient availability in the soil, and to determine the relationship between different, but commonly used laboratory protocols.The availability of exchangeable Ca, Mg, and K was significantly lower in soils extracted fresh with NH4Cl than from soils which were dried and ground prior to extraction with KCl or a modified Olsen solution. Soil nutrient availability generally decreased with depth in the soil. Several soil properties important to plant growth and survival varied predictably across the landscape and could be viewed in the context of a simple catena model. In the surface soils, exchangeable base cation concentrations and pH increased along a gradient from ridge tops to riparian valleys, while soil organic matter, exchangeable Fe and acidity decreased along this gradient. On the ridges, N, P, and K were positively correlated with soil organic matter; on slopes, N and P were positively correlated with organic matter, and Ca, Kg, and pH were negatively correlated with exchangeable Fe. Nutrient availability in the upper catena appears to be primarily controlled by biotic processes, particularly the accumulation of organic matter. The Ca, K, and P content of the vegetation was higher on ridges and slopes than in the valley positions. Periodic flooding and impeded drainage in the lower catena resulted in a more heterogeneous environment.A comparison of the Bisley, Puerto Rico soils with other tropical montane forests (TMF) revealed that the internal heterogeneity of soils in the Bisley Watersheds is similar to the range of average soil nutrient concentrations among TMFs for Ca, Mg, and K (dry/ground soils). Phosphorus tended to be slightly higher in Bisley and N was lower than in other TMFs.

Biomass and Nutrient Content of the Bisley Experimental Watersheds, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, Before and After Hurricane Hugo, 1989

The biomass and nutrient content of two steepland watersheds were estimated using allometric equations and nutrient concentrations derived from a subsample of the vegetation. Prior to the passage of Hurricane Hugo in September 1989, the watersheds had a total vegetative biomass of 301 tons/ha, 75 percent of which was aboveground. The total nutrient content of this vegetation was 907, 49, 644, 653, and 192 kg/ha for N, P, K, Ca, and Mg, respectively and varied with topographic setting. Concentrations per unit dry weight of P (0.16), K (2.49), Ca (2.13), and Mg (0.62) in aboveground vegetation were similar to other steepland tropical forests, while the concentration of N (2.9) was greater (...)

Damming Tropical Island Streams: Problems, Solutions, and Alternatives

Abstract The combination of human population growth, increased water usage, and limited groundwater resources often leads to extensive damming of rivers and streams on tropical islands. Ecological effects of dams on tropical islands can be dramatic, because the vast majority of native stream faunas (fishes, shrimps, and snails) migrate between freshwater and saltwater during their lives. Dams and associated water withdrawals have been shown to extirpate native faunas from upstream reaches and increase mortality of downstream-drifting larvae. A better understanding of the effects of dams and the behavior of tropical island stream faunas is providing insights into how managers can mitigate the negative effects of existing dams and develop alternatives to dam construction while still providing freshwater for human use. We review the ecological effects of dams on tropical island streams, explore means to mitigate some of these effects, describe alternatives to dam construction, and recommend research priorities.

The effect of human activity on the structure and composition of a tropical forest in Puerto Rico

From European settlement to the 1940s, the Bisley watersheds of the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, were used for agroforestry, selective logging, charcoal production, and timber management. Each of these activities affected different parts of the landscape in different ways and at different times. After nearly 50 years of unhindered regeneration, six impacts remain apparent: (1) shifts in the dominance and age structure of canopy species; (2) immigration of subcanopy crop species and the establishment of banana as a riparian dominant; (3) increases in the importance of canopy species used for coffee shade; (4) the impoverishment of certain commercial timber species; (5) an increase in the density of palms around abandoned charcoal kilns; (6) a reduction in the regeneration of canopy species around abandoned charcoal kilns. Changes in the above-ground nutrient pool may also have occurred. Human disturbances in the study site were progressive rather than discrete events, had adverse impacts on forest regeneration, and increased the spatial heterogeneity of the forest.

Forest Floor Decomposition Following Hurricane Litter Inputs in Several Puerto Rican Forests

Hurricanes affect ecosystem processes by altering resource availability and heterogeneity, but the spatial and temporal signatures of these events on biomass and nutrient cycling processes are not well understood. We examined mass and nutrient inputs of hurricane-derived litter in six tropical forests spanning three life zones in northeastern Puerto Rico after the passage of Hurricane Georges. We then followed the decomposition of forest floor mass and nutrient dynamics over 1 year in the three forests that experienced the greatest litter inputs (moist, tabonuco, and palm forests) to assess the length of time for which litter inputs influence regeneration and nutrient cycling processes. The 36-h disturbance event had litterfall rates that ranged from 0.55 to 0.93 times annual rates among the six forests; forest floor ranged between 1.2 and 2.5 times prehurricane standing stocks. The upperelevation forest sites had the lowest nonhurricane litterfall rates and experienced the lowest hurricane litterfall and the smallest relative increase in forest floor standing stocks. In the three intensively studied forests, the forest floor returned to prehurricane values very quickly, within 2‐10 months. The palm forest had the slowest rate of decay (k 0.74 0.16 y ‐1 ), whereas the tabonuco forest and the moist forest had similar decay rates (1.04 0.12 and 1.09 0.14, respectively). In the moist forest, there were short-term increases in the concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) in litter, but in the other two forests nutrient concentrations generally decreased. The rapid disappearance of the hurricane inputs suggests that such pulses are quickly incorporated into nutrient cycles and may be one reason for the extraordinary resilience of these forests to wind disturbances.