Early post-hurricane stand development in Fringe mangrove forests of contrasting productivity

We examined the immediate effects of a hurricane (Hurricane Andrew, August 1992) in a coastal landscape in sub-tropical Florida, and then monitored stand recovery in Fringe mangrove sites of different productive capacity for 9 years after the disturbance. Structural impacts of the hurricane were confined almost entirely to forests within 200–300 m of the coast. Mortality and damage were concentrated on canopy individuals. Following the hurricane, rapid canopy recovery and the early onset of competition among Fringe forest stems, as evidenced by relatively high mortality of smaller individuals, magnified the initial dominance of hurricane survivors and early-established seedlings over later cohorts, and limited recruitment to the brief period prior to canopy closure. Changes in the relative abundance of the two dominant mangrove species following disturbance varied strongly along the productivity gradient. The shade-tolerant Rhizophora mangle L. generally became the overwhelming canopy dominant in the competitive environment of the recovering Coastal Fringe forest following hurricane, but the shade-intolerant Laguncularia racemosa (L.) C.F. Gaertn was better represented in less productive Interior Fringe sites, where canopy closure was delayed. Site productivity is an important determinant of the success of mangrove species during post-hurricane stand development, and consequently of the zonation of communities in the coastal landscape.