Collaborative Research: Impacts of severe drought on tropical forest post-disturbance recovery

预计未来十年热带森林干旱的频率和严重程度将会增加。此外，随着气候变暖，飓风的强度预计也会上升。飓风破坏了森林结构，增加了下层植被的光照和温度。对光照条件增加有反应的树种对水分压力也特别敏感。因此，从飓风中恢复的森林可能容易受到干旱的影响。本项目研究波多黎各热带森林的恢复过程，包括水资源压力对再生树木的影响。研究人员正在从飓风玛丽亚（2017）中恢复的森林中进行降雨操纵实验。该项目正在帮助描述和预测森林对气候变化的适应能力。研究结果正在与美国林务局的科学家和管理人员分享。九位早期职业科学家正在生态研究方面获得宝贵的经验。一系列的网络研讨会也在与公众交流结果。该项目正在波多黎各的Luquillo实验森林进行大规模的局部降雨排除实验。正在从附近16公顷的Luquillo森林动态图收集更多数据。这些数据包括飓风玛丽亚（2017年）和另外两个飓风通过后收集的长期人口统计信息。这一信息增加了对树木对干旱和飓风破坏共同影响的生态生理反应的理解。该项目描述了在不同降雨条件下飓风后的恢复情况。通过在生态系统人口学模型中加入和改进树木水力学的表征以及飓风破坏对水和碳动态的影响，本研究正在推进各种气候变化情景对树种组成和碳动态的影响评估。本项目得到综合生物系统综合生态生理学项目的部分资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The frequency and severity of drought in tropical forests is expected to increase in the next decade. Further, the intensity of hurricanes is also anticipated to rise with a warming climate. Hurricanes damage the forest structure, increasing understory light and temperature. Tree species that respond to increased light conditions are also particularly sensitive to water stress. As a result, forests recovering from hurricanes may be susceptible to drought. This project studies the recovery process in a tropical forest in Puerto Rico, including the impacts of water stress on re-growing trees. The researchers are conducting a rainfall manipulation experiment in a forest that is recovering from Hurricane Maria (2017). The project is helping characterize and predict forest resilience to climate change. Results are being shared with scientists and managers working in the U.S. Forest Service. Nine early career scientists are gaining valuable experience in ecological research. A series of webinars are also communicating results with the public. The project is conducting a large-scale partial rainfall exclusion experiment in the Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico. Additional data is being collected from the nearby 16-ha mapped Luquillo Forest Dynamics Plot. These data include long-term demographic information collected after the passage of Hurricane Maria (2017) and two other hurricanes. This information is adding to the understanding of the ecophysiological responses of trees to the joint impacts of drought and hurricane damage. The project is characterizing post-hurricane recovery under variable rainfall conditions. By including and improving representation of tree hydraulics and the effects of hurricane damage on water and carbon dynamics in the Ecosystem Demography model, the research is advancing assessment of the impacts of various climate change scenarios on tree species composition and carbon dynamics.This project was partially supported by the Integrative Ecological Physiology program in Integrative Organismal Systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.