Resistance, resilience, and vulnerability of social‐ecological systems to hurricanes in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Subject to hurricane disturbance for millennia, natural ecosystems of Puerto Rico exhibit clear patterns of resistance (e.g., many tree species have little immediate storm-related mortality) and resilience (e.g., leaf litterfall and stream chemistry returned to pre-hurricane levels in as little as five years). Contemporaneous studies of near-shore areas also suggested no long-term impacts of hurricanes; however, anthropogenic effects (coral bleaching, sedimentation) dominate the long-term condition of marine systems in Puerto Rico, many of which have slowly evolved into novel ecosystems. A key characteristic of novel marine ecosystems is their long-term loss of benefits and resilience, coupled to declining biodiversity and loss of structural or functional redundancy, signaling increased vulnerability to subsequent hurricanes. Human systems are also strongly affected by cyclonic storms, as evidenced by the recent impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in the Caribbean. The lack of short-term recovery from disturbance by coral reef ecosystems, coupled with an increasing recurrence of anthropogenic impacts, increasing hurricane frequency or severity, and sea-level rise, may have irreversible long-term socioeconomic consequences for coastal socialecological systems and for community livelihoods. A comprehensive social-ecological understanding of hurricane effects in Puerto Rico is lacking in part because hurricane effects on human populations are not comprehensively followed. Although some studies suggest a path forward, finding effective methods to link measurements of storm intensity to the diverse components of tropical social-ecological systems remains a challenge.

Social-ecological interactions in a disaster context: Puerto Rican farmer households’ food security after Hurricane Maria

“…This result aligns with other studies that suggest that, in the context of disaster, external sources of support, whether institutional or financial, can support farmers' adaptive capacity to navigate recovery [29,54,97]. These variables also point out to how these individual attributes in 'normal times' may build the resistance and resilience of farming systems [49,98,99], in light of compounding shocks in the ongoing climate crisis.…”

“…climate patterns, ecosystem services, agricultural resources) and social components (e.g. economic, inequality, colonial legacies) intertwine and influence individual outcomes [46][47][48][49][50][51]. Assessing farmers' food security over time during the recovery period from an extreme weather event can provide an understanding of how social-ecological dynamics shape disasters [37,52,53], and what may contribute to reducing vulnerability to future extreme weather events and other natural hazards more broadly [48,54].…”

“…Many studies have shown clear links between experiencing natural hazards and decreased food security or diet diversity. Findings show that a combination of household assets coupled with broader structures of support play a key role in people's access to food when a shock creates a disruption in livelihood activities [9,[47][48][49][50]. Most of the existing work on food security and extreme events is focused on continental countries, not in SIDS.…”

Long‐term responses of gastropods to simulated hurricanes in a tropical montane rainforest

“…The montane tropical rainforests of Puerto Rico have experienced hurricane‐induced disturbances for millennia (Zimmerman et al, 2020). For understory species, exposure to repeated disturbances through evolutionary history likely has resulted in broad fundamental niches compared with the typical understory environment in closed canopy montane rainforest.…”

Assessment of Ecological Vulnerability on Northern Sand Prevention Belt of China Based on the Ecological Pressure–Sensibility–Resilience Model

“…Ecosystem degradation such as deforestation, soil degradation, desertification, and loss of biodiversity has become one of the most prominent environmental problems around the world, especially in ecologically vulnerable regions [2,3], which would threaten ecosystem services and human well-being [4]. Ecological vulnerability is a specific attribute of ecosystems, which indicates the resistance and resilience of an ecosystem to external interference within a certain region [4][5][6][7][8][9]. It is an important evaluation indicator reflecting regional ecological status and the degree of ecosystem stability, which also is the key content in global change and sustainable development [3,10].…”