SGER: Effects of Hurricane Andrew on Subtropical Hardwood Hammocks of Everglades National Park, Florida

飓风扰乱了森林的树冠，导致林隙和覆盖层树下的光照水平增加。由于在先期新兵和新发树木迅速生长的森林中，这种增加可能是暂时的，因此必须在飓风发生后的短时间内研究植被对飓风的反应。1992年8月24日，飓风安德鲁的南眼墙袭击了佛罗里达州大沼泽地国家公园Long Pine Key上嵌入湿地松稀树稀树草原的一片片亚热带硬木森林(吊床)。在飓风发生时，已经在烧毁和未烧毁的吊床上绘制了标记和测量了所有树2厘米直径的地块。首先，该项目将测量烧毁和未烧毁的亚热带吊床中树木的损害和死亡率，并审查烧毁和未烧毁的亚热带吊床中树木的恢复模式，以及在飓风过后一年内树木恢复的模式。其次，它将通过检查烧毁和未烧毁吊床上的植物来评估飓风对附生植物的影响。这些数据将被用来探索树木和附生植物是否对火灾和飓风的大规模干扰做出了类似的反应(以及以何种方式)。生态系统必须在几个时间和空间尺度上不断地对压力作出响应。本研究提供了亚热带吊床热带树木种群的损害和恢复模式的定量评估。在严重飓风对亚热带森林的影响方面，这项研究的结果将直接与其他研究结果相比较。此外，通过比较飓风安德鲁对烧毁和未烧毁吊床中树木的影响，这项研究提供了一个难得的机会来比较两种主要干扰的影响。

Hurricanes disrupt forest canopies, resulting in increased light levels both in gaps and beneath overstory trees. Because such increases are likely to be transient in forests in which advance recruits and resprouting trees grow rapidly, study of the responses of vegetation to hurricanes must occur within a short period of time following impact. On August 24, 1992, the south eyewall of Hurricane Andrew impacted patches of subtropical hardwood forests (hammocks) imbedded in slash pine savannas on Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park, Florida. Mapped plots in which all tress 2 cm dbh had been tagged and measured had been established at the time of the hurricane in both burned and unburned hammocks. First, the project will measure damage and mortality of trees in burned and unburned subtropical hammocks and examine patterns of recovery of trees in burned and unburned subtropical hammocks and examine patterns of recovery of trees over the year following the hurricane. Second, it will assess effects of the hurricane on epiphytes by censusing plants in plots located in both burned and unburned hammocks. These data will be used to explore whether the trees and epiphytes respond similarly (and in what ways) to the large-scale disturbances of fires and hurricanes. %%% Ecological systems must constantly respond to stresses on several temporal & spatial scales. This study provides quantitative assessment if the damage & patterns of recovery of populations of tropical trees in subtropical hammocks. Results of this study will be directly comparable to others in the impacts of severe hurricanes on subtropical forests. In addition, by comparing the impact of Hurricane Andrew on trees in burned & unburned hammocks, this study provides a rare opportunity to compare the effects of two major disturbances.