Sign in to use this feature.

Years

Between: -

Subjects

remove_circle_outline
remove_circle_outline

Journals

Article Types

Countries / Regions

Search Results (1)

Search Parameters:
Keywords = Las Casas de la Selva

Order results
Result details
Results per page
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
16 pages, 9522 KiB  
Article
Tabonuco and Plantation Forests at Higher Elevations Are More Vulnerable to Hurricane Damage and Slower to Recover in Southeastern Puerto Rico
by Michael W. Caslin, Madhusudan Katti, Stacy A. C. Nelson and Thrity Vakil
Land 2025, 14(7), 1324; https://doi.org/10.3390/land14071324 - 21 Jun 2025
Viewed by 1425
Abstract
Hurricanes are major drivers of forest structure in the Caribbean. In 2017, Hurricane Maria caused substantial damage to Puerto Rico’s forests. We studied forest structure variation across 75 sites at Las Casas de la Selva, a sustainable forest plantation in Patillas, Puerto Rico, [...] Read more.
Hurricanes are major drivers of forest structure in the Caribbean. In 2017, Hurricane Maria caused substantial damage to Puerto Rico’s forests. We studied forest structure variation across 75 sites at Las Casas de la Selva, a sustainable forest plantation in Patillas, Puerto Rico, seven years after Hurricane Maria hit the property. At each site we analyzed 360° photos in a 3D VR headset to quantify the vertical structure and transformed them into hemispherical images to quantify canopy closure and ground cover. We also computed the Vertical Habitat Diversity Index (VHDI) from the amount of foliage in four strata: herbaceous, shrub, understory, and canopy. Using the Local Bivariate Relationship tool in ArcGIS Pro, we analyzed the relationship between forest recovery (vertical structure, canopy closure, and ground cover) and damage. Likewise, we analyzed the effects of elevation, slope, and aspect, on damage, canopy closure, and vertical forest structure. We found that canopy closure decreases with increasing elevation and increases with the amount of damage. Higher elevations show a greater amount of damage even seven years post hurricane. We conclude that trees in the mixed tabonuco/plantation forest are more susceptible to hurricanes at higher elevations. The results have implications for plantation forest management under climate-change-driven higher intensity hurricane regimes. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop