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Tree species composition affects coarse woody debris stocks of novel secondary forests in the moist region of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria

Marengo Casul, Alejandro J.
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Abstract
In Puerto Rico, novel forest ecosystems dominated by introduced tree species experienced significant amounts of coarse woody debris (CWD) accumulation following hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, necessitating a better understanding of CWD quantity and quality to gauge these forests' response to extreme disturbances. This study quantified CWD biomass, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous stocks in 21 novel forest stands in Puerto Rico and assessed their relationships to soil nitrogen and extractable phosphorous stocks using line-intersect sampling and wood sampling of dominant introduced species. Results indicate varying CWD biomass and carbon stocks between sites dominated by different tree species and located on different geological substrates, with no relationship of CWD biomass to soil nitrogen or extractable phosphorous and no effects of soil order, series, or hydrologic group. These insights are crucial for understanding post-hurricane nutrient dynamics and developing forest management strategies for climate change mitigation and carbon sequestration.
Los bosques noveles puertorriqueños dominados por especies introducidas experimentaron acumulaciones significativas de residuos leñosos grandes (RLG) durante los huracanes Irma y María en 2017. Para entender su respuesta a disturbios extremos, es necesario conocer la cantidad de RLG y su contenido de macronutrientes. Estimé la biomasa, carbono, nitrógeno y fósforo de RLG en 21 sitios de estudio, y evalué su relación con nitrógeno y fósforo de suelo utilizando muestreo por intersección de líneas y madera de las especies dominantes. Encontré variaciones en biomasa y carbono de RLG con respecto a especie dominante y sustrato geológico. No encontré relación entre biomasa de RLG con nitrógeno y fósforo de suelo, ni efectos del orden, serie o grupo hidrológico del suelo. Estos resultados informan sobre el reciclaje de nutrientes luego de disturbios extremos y el desarrollo de estrategias de manejo forestal para mitigar el cambio climático y promover el secuestro de carbono.
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Date
2023-05-03
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Research Projects
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Keywords
Coarse woody debris, Novel forests, Ecology, Hurricane, Introduced tree species
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