Fine Root Dynamics Following Single and Multiple Disturbances in a Subtropical Wet Forest Ecosystem

Abstract

1 Live and dead fine root biomass and rates of root decomposition were studied prior to and immediately following a localized disturbance (experimental gap creation) and a landscape-level disturbance (Hurricane Hugo) in a lower montane subtropical wet forest in Puerto Rico. The effects of the hurricane on the previously disturbed environment (experimental gaps) were also examined to determine the effects of a multiple disturbance regime. 2) A 40% decline in fine live roots occurred two months following gap creation. Six months following the hurricane, high fine root mortality resulted in a decline of 70-77% of the initial fine live root biomass in the experimental gaps; a similar decline occurred in the control forest