Natural disturbances and the hydrology of humid tropical forests

Estimating soil turnover rate from tree uprooting during hurricanes in Puerto Rico

“…The proportion of uprooting was highly variable among the plots and supported other studies that indicate complex non-linear relationships between hurricane wind velocity and damage (Everham and Brokaw, 1996;Scatena et al, 2004). In general the proportion of uproots was greater in plots exposed to the hurricane eye than in plots away from the storm center.…”

A two end-member model of wood dynamics in headwater neotropical rivers

“…(1) and (2) may not differ consistently between temperate and tropical environments. Background tree mortality, for example, does not appear to differ among tropical, temperate, and boreal forests (Hartshorn, 1990;Lieberman et al, 1990;Lugo and Scatena, 1996;Scatena et al, 2005). Instream wood dynamics in tropical rivers, however, might be expected to differ from wood dynamics in rivers of the temperate zone for at least two reasons; hydrology and wood decay (Douglas and Guyot, 2005).…”

9.30 Streams of the Montane Humid Tropics

“…Multiday rainfalls over 2000 mm are not uncommon (Table 1), rainfalls greater than 500 mm d À1 typically have recurrence intervals of 20 years or less, and daily totals greater than 75 mm d À1 occur in most years (Gupta, 1988;Scatena et al, 2004;Chu et al, 2009). Multiday rainfalls over 2000 mm are not uncommon (Table 1), rainfalls greater than 500 mm d À1 typically have recurrence intervals of 20 years or less, and daily totals greater than 75 mm d À1 occur in most years (Gupta, 1988;Scatena et al, 2004;Chu et al, 2009).…”

“…Flooding is common throughout the tropics and several distinct flood regimes have previously been distinguished and include: (1) occasional short-term flood; (2) frequent or annual short-term flooding; (3) annual long-term flooding; and (4) annual submersion by floodwaters (Salo et al, 1986;Scatena et al, 2004). Only the first two of these regimes are common in TMSs and TMSs in both seasonal and nonseasonal environments and are characterized by a regime where short-term events capable of transporting bedload (see Chapters 9.8 and 9.27) and removing periphyton (see Chapter 9.12) occur several times each year.…”

“…Short-term floods and droughts cause significant invertebrate mortality and shifts in population-age distributions in TMS streams in Malaysia, Hong-Kong, India, Ecuador, tropical Australia, the Andean piedmont of Venezuela, and the Caribbean (Flechter and Feifarek, 1994;Scatena et al, 2004). However, native populations have numerous morphological and behavioral adaptations to deal with common, substratedisturbing stream flows, including suction-cup-like appendages that can cling to bedrock surfaces and the ability to hide under large boulders or occupy shallow-water channel-margin habitats during floods and droughts.…”