SGER: Collaborative Research: Hurricane Andrew Effects on Forest Composition in the Everglades

当飓风安德鲁以每小时超过170英里的风速袭击大沼泽地国家公园时，它摧毁了当地的森林，但大部分开放湿地没有受到损害。树木的叶子都被刮光了，大部分树枝都被折断了，所有的树都被掀翻或砸碎了。在一些红树林中，只有几棵树还屹立着。常绿林地从郁郁葱葱的森林变成了乱糟糟的褐色无叶废墟。秃柏林和湿地松林也遭到严重破坏。虽然安德鲁飓风是一场规模巨大的自然灾害，但过去该地区的飓风频繁发生，一定是塑造这些森林的重要力量。作为25年来第一次直接袭击公园的主要飓风，安德鲁飓风为调查森林恢复的速度和模式提供了难得的机会。这一信息很重要，因为森林构成了重要的鱼类和野生动物栖息地，以及大沼泽地的休闲区，尽管大沼泽地通常被认为是开放的湿地。破坏的程度和树木再生的速度将决定哪些物种构成飓风后的森林。公园内的本地树种在抵御飓风的能力和飓风破坏后的再生能力方面似乎有很大的不同。恢复的森林应该由那些被破坏最少的树种组成，那些可以再生最快的树种，以及那些可以入侵开阔地区的树种。研究将集中在大沼泽地国家公园内红树林、热带硬木、松树和柏树等树种受到破坏的程度。数据还包括哪些物种能从破坏中恢复，它们恢复的速度有多快，以及哪些物种在飓风留下的森林开阔地区定居。这些信息将有助于预测恢复后的森林应该是什么样子，以及了解过去飓风是如何影响这些森林的。

When Hurricane Andrew slammed into Everglades National Park with wind gust over 170 mph, it deciminated the local forest while leaving areas of open wetlands largely unharmed. Trees were stripped of al their leaves, most branches were broken off, and m any trees were toppled or shattered. Only a few trees remained standing in some mangrove forests. Evergreen woodlands were transformed from lush forest to brown tangles of leafless debris. Bald cypress and slash pine forest were also heavily damaged. Although Andrew was a natural disaster of enormous scale, hurricanes in the region have been frequent in the past and must have been an important force shaping these forests. As the first major hurricane to directly strike the Park in over 25 years, Hurricane Andrew presents a rare opportunity to investigate the speed and patterns of forest recovery. This information is important because forests make up critical fish and wildlife habitats and recreational areas with the Everglades, even though the Everglades are commonly thought of as open wetlands. Both the degree of damage and the speed with which trees can regrow will determine which species make up a post-hurricane forest. The native tree species within the Park appear to differ greatly in their abilities both to withstand hurricane-force winds and to regrow after hurricane damage. The recovering forest should be composed of those tree species that were damaged the least, those that can resprout the fastest, as well as those that can invade open areas. Research will focus on the extent of damage to the trees species within mangrove, tropical hardwood, pine, and cypress forests in Everglades National Park. Data will also be taken on which species recover from damage, how fast they recover, and which species colonize open areas in the forests left by the hurricane. This information will help to predict what the recovered forests should look like as well as understand how hurricanes have affected these forests in the past.