Physical Aspects of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico

Scatena, F. N.; Larsen, Matthew C.

doi:10.2307/2388247

Cited by 249 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(1 reference statement)

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“…The hurricane had sustained winds of 51 m/s, gusts of 67 m/s, and was a Category 3 storm on the SaffirSimpson scale. Both the intensity and damage of the storm were less than those associated with Hurricane Hugo in 1989 (Scatena and Larsen 1991). Nevertheless, there was loss of foliage and damage at all the study sites.…”

Section: Description Of Hurricane Georgesmentioning

confidence: 76%

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

2003

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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 ϭ 0.74 Ϯ 0.16 y -1 ), whereas the tabonuco forest and the moist forest had similar decay rates (1.04 Ϯ 0.12 and 1.09 Ϯ 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.

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Section: Description Of Hurricane Georgesmentioning

confidence: 76%

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

2003

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“…Even though Spathodea campanulata is naturalised in Puerto Rico and being wind dispersed is likely to reach the forest, it is shade intolerant and, therefore, is unlikely to prosper in closed canopy mature forests unless recurrent disturbances maintain canopy openings. Under the historical return frequency of hurricane disturbances (50-60 years, Scatena and Larson 1991), the rapid recovery of the native canopy species will keep shade-intolerant introduced species relatively rare over the long-term. Although Swietenia macrophylla is light demanding and colonises after catastrophic disturbances (Snook 1996;Shono and Snook 2006), it is able to survive in shaded conditions for long periods of time (Medina et al 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…March and April tend to have less rainfall than other months, but there is usually no month with <200 mm (Brown et al 1983). The average return interval for hurricanes that cause widespread damage in this area 290 Plant Ecol (2007) 192:289-301 is 50-60 years (Scatena and Larson 1991), however, two hurricanes that affected this study occurred only 9 years apart (see below). In addition to these hurricanes, the forest also suffered disturbance from a drought in 1994.…”

Section: Study Area and Sitementioning

confidence: 95%

Land use history, hurricane disturbance, and the fate of introduced species in a subtropical wet forest in Puerto Rico

2007

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Tropical forests are suffering from increasing intensities and frequency of disturbances. As a result, non-native species accidentally introduced or intentionally planted for farming, plantations, and ornamental purposes may spread and potentially invade undisturbed native forest. It is not known if these introduced species will become invasive, as a result of recurrent natural disturbances such as hurricanes. Using data from three censuses (spanning 15 years) of a 16-ha subtropical wet forest plot, we investigated the impact of two hurricanes on populations of plant species that were planted in farms and plantations that were then abandoned and from the natural spread of species introduced into Puerto Rico in the past. The populations of four species (Citrus paradis, Mangifera indica, Musa sp., and Simarouba glauca) changed little over time. Six species (Artocarpus altilis, Calophyllum calaba, Genipa americana, Hibiscus pernambucensis, Syzygium jambos, and Swietenia macrophylla) declined between the first two censuses after Hurricane Hugo, then increased again in Census 3 after Hurricane Georges. Spathodea campanulata gradually increased from census to census, while Coffea arabica declined. These introduced species represent only a small part of the forest basal area and few show signs of increasing over time. The number of stems per plant, new recruits, and the growth rates of these introduced species were within the ranges of those for native plant species. The mortality rates over both census intervals were significantly lower for introduced species (<5% year À1 ) than for native ones (15% year À1 ). Many new recruits established after Hurricane Hugo (prior to this study) had opened the forest canopy and these high mortality rates reflect their death as the canopy recovered. Only Swietenia macrophylla and Syzygium jambos showed an increase in stem numbers in the closed canopy area of forest that had suffered limited human disturbance in the past. A future increase in frequency of disturbance may enable greater stem numbers of introduced species to establish, while lower-mortality rates compared to native species, may allow them to persist during inter-hurricane intervals. An increase in the population of introduced species, especially for those that grow into large trees, may have an impact on this tropical forest in the future.

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“…Once exposed due to wind-throw and uprooting, the weathered mantle is easily eroded so that a lot of sediment is washed down during extreme meteorological conditions. Elsewhere, in an example of a far more serious effect of extreme meteorological condition on landslides, Scatena & Larsen (1991) reported a total of 285 landslides over the Luquillo Mountains in Puerto Rico, associated with the passage of Hurricane Hugo. A similar hurricane was responsible for a total suspended sediment transport of 99 600 tonnes in 48 h from Lago Loiza basin, Puerto Rico (Gellis, 1993).…”

Section: Sediment Yield In Other Forested Areas In Malaysiamentioning

confidence: 99%

The hydrology and sediment yield of the Sungai Air Terjun catchment, Penang Hill, Malaysia

Ismail

2000

Hydrological Sciences Journal

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Physical Aspects of Hurricane Hugo in Puerto Rico

Cited by 249 publications

References 10 publications

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

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

Land use history, hurricane disturbance, and the fate of introduced species in a subtropical wet forest in Puerto Rico

The hydrology and sediment yield of the Sungai Air Terjun catchment, Penang Hill, Malaysia

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