The Colorado and Dwarf forests of Puerto Rico's Luquillo mountains
The colorado and dwarf forests of the Luquillo Mountains, occurring above the 600-m cumulus base of the trade winds, are frequently enveloped in clouds. Structurally, the forests are small, dense, and floristically impoverished when compared to lower-elevation forests. Dynamically, tree growth (diameter at breast height, woody volume, and biomass accumulation), litterfall, herbivory rates, litter turnover, and total aboveground net primary productivity are low compared to other tropical forests. Normal climatic conditions characterized by fog and heavy rainfall, accompanied by saturated soils, retard the mineralization of organic matter and slow forest growth and development. Recovery from occasional disturbances caused by hurricanes or human activities takes from several decades in the colorado forest to a century or more in the dwarf forest.
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| Format: | biblioteca |
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New York, NY (EUA) Springer-Verlag
1995
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| Subjects: | CARACTERISTICAS DEL SITIO, ESTRUCTURA DEL BOSQUE, DENSIDAD DE LA POBLACION, COMPOSICION BOTANICA, SUCESION ECOLOGICA, DINAMICA DE LA POBLACION, CRECIMIENTO, BOSQUE NUBOSO, PUERTO RICO, |
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| Summary: | The colorado and dwarf forests of the Luquillo Mountains, occurring above the 600-m cumulus base of the trade winds, are frequently enveloped in clouds. Structurally, the forests are small, dense, and floristically impoverished when compared to lower-elevation forests. Dynamically, tree growth (diameter at breast height, woody volume, and biomass accumulation), litterfall, herbivory rates, litter turnover, and total aboveground net primary productivity are low compared to other tropical forests. Normal climatic conditions characterized by fog and heavy rainfall, accompanied by saturated soils, retard the mineralization of organic matter and slow forest growth and development. Recovery from occasional disturbances caused by hurricanes or human activities takes from several decades in the colorado forest to a century or more in the dwarf forest. |
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