Structure and composition on moist coastal forests in Dorado, Puerto Rico
A survey of forest structure, species composition, and change in forest areas over a 44 year period was conducted on 39.5 ha of forest lands in dorado, Puerto Rico, where H.A. Gleason and M.T. Cook had studied forest conditions in 1926. A total of 51 tree species were found in the study area. Six forest types were identified on white sands and poorly drained clay soil. The most complex forest was the 19.7 m tall old secondary forest with 32 tree species, 1,880 stems/ha, a basal area of 41.6 m2/ha, and a complexity index of 493. Abandoned palm groves (5 tree species), a disturbed open fores with 9 tree species and dominated by Hymenaea courbaril, a Clusia-Zyzygium forest (11 tree species), and a young secondary forest with 19 tree species (also dominated by H. courbaril) were all undergoing succession towards the old secondary forest. This forest is considered to be the climax on white sands. In flooded soils, Pterocarpus officinalis and six other tree species form a climax swamp forest that has not changed in composition for the last 54 years. In terms of forest area, however, Pterocarpus and old secondary forests have been reduced by 30 percent and 79 percent, respectively. The primary cause of the changes in forest areas has been human intervention: direct, through cutting, and indirect, through changes in drainage conditions. The study forest, however, support four endangered plant species and an endangered bird species. Their social, scientific, and intrinsic values are significant.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | biblioteca |
| Published: |
New Orleans, LA (EUA)
1984
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| Subjects: | ESTRUCTURA DEL BOSQUE, DENSIDAD DE LA POBLACION, DISTRIBUCION DE LA POBLACION, PUERTO RICO, |
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