Post-hurricane recovery of a herbaceous understorey plant in a tropical rain forest in Puerto Rico

Abstract

Ecologists agree on the importance of hurricanes in community dynamics in tropical forests but little is known of the responses of herbaceous species to large disturbances. The passage of Hurricane Georges over the island of Puerto Rico provided a unique opportunity to study the post-hurricane recovery of Heliconia caribaea, a large understorey herb. Five weeks after Georges, the types of vegetative damage, mortality and recovery were recorded and their relationship with plant size was established. The relationship between recovery strategy and leaf or stem damage severity was also determined. The abundance of H. caribaea seedlings in sites with severe or little forest canopy damage was recorded to determine the effects of canopy cover on seedling establishment. Most individuals showed severe leaf and stem damage. This was not related to plant size. Mortality was low and caused by fallen trees. Recovery was not associated with severity of leaf damage but more individuals with no signs of regeneration appeared among plants that had severe stem damage. Seedling abundance was higher in areas with severe canopy damage relative to those with closed canopy suggesting that hurricanes may benefit H. caribaea by creating suitable habitats for seedling establishment. We argue that recovery strategies like those exhibited by H. caribaea may be common among understorey plants, particularly in areas regularly subjected to large-scale disturbances.