Land-Use History and Forest Regeneration in the Cayey Mountains, Puerto Rico |
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Authors: | John B Pascarella T Mitchell Aide Mayra I Serrano Jess K Zimmerman |
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Institution: | (1) PO Box 23360, Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00931-3360 , PR;(2) Institute for Tropical Ecosystem Studies, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00936 , PR |
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Abstract: | Although deforestation continues to be a major threat to tropical biodiversity, abandonment of agricultural land in Puerto
Rico provides an opportunity to study long-term patterns of secondary forest regeneration. Using aerial photographs from 1937,
1967, and 1995, we determined land-use history for 2443 ha in the Cayey Mountains. Pastures were the dominant land cover in
1937 and <20% of the area was classified as forest. Between 1937 and 1995, forest cover increased to 62% due to widespread
abandonment of agriculture. To examine the effect of historic land use on current forest structure and species composition,
we sampled secondary forests in 24 abandoned pastures, 9 abandoned coffee plantations and 4 old-growth forest sites. Sites
were located on two soil types along an elevational gradient (125–710 m) and included a chronosequence from 4 to over 80 years
old. After 25–30 years, basal area and species richness in secondary forest sites derived from abandoned pastures and coffee
plantations were similar to old-growth forest sites. The species composition of secondary forests derived from abandoned pastures
and coffee plantations remained distinct from old-growth forest. In addition to historic land use, age and elevation were
important environmental variables explaining variation in secondary forest species composition. Non-indigenous species were
common in recently abandoned pastures and coffee plantations, but their importance declined in the older sites. This study
demonstrates that secondary forests on private land can be an important component of the conservation of tropical tree biodiversity.
Received 16 June 1999; Accepted 8 October 1999. |
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Keywords: | : biodiversity chronosequence coffee plantation land use history non-metric multidimensional scaling pasture Puerto Rico secondary succession tropical forests |
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