Abstract
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.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander T.R. (1967). Effect of Hurricane Betsy on the southeastern Everglades. Quart. J. Florida Acad. Sci. 30:10–24
Attiwill P.M. (1994). The disturbance of forest ecosystems: the ecological basis for conservative management. Forest Ecol. Manage. 63: 247–300
Baldwin A.H., Platt W.J., Gathen K.L., Lessmann J.M., Rauch T.L. (1995). Hurricane damage and regeneration in fringe mangrove forests of southeast Florida, USA. J. Coastal Res. 121: 169–183
Baldwin A.H., Egnotovich M., Ford M., Platt W.J. (2001). Regeneration in fringe mangrove forests damaged by Hurricane Andrew. Plant Ecol. 157: 149–162
Ball M.C. (1980). Patterns of secondary succession in a mangrove forest of southern Florida. Oecologia 44: 226–235
Bertness M.D. (1991). Interspecific interactions among high marsh perennials in a New England salt marsh. Ecology 72(1): 125–137
Boto K.G., Wellington J.T. (1983). Phosphorus and nitrogen nutritional status of a northern Australian mangrove forest. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 11: 63–69
Boucher D.H., Vandermeer J.H.,Yih K., Zamora N. (1990). Contrasting hurricane damage in tropical rain forest and pine forest. Ecology 71: 2022–2024
Chen R., Twilley R.R. (1998). A gap dynamic model of mangrove forest development along gradients of soil salinity and nutrient resources. J. Ecol. 86: 37–51
Cottam G., Curtis J.T. (1956). The use of distance measures in phytosociological sampling. Ecology 37: 451–460
Craighead F.C. (1971). The Trees of South Florida. University of Miami Press, Miami
Craighead F.C., Gilbert V.C. (1962). The effects of Hurricane Donna on the vegetation of southern Florida. Quart. J. Florida Acad. Sci. 25: 1–28
Daniel T.W., Helms J.A., Baker F.S. (1979). Principles of Silviculture (2nd Ed.). McGraw-Hill, New York
Davis J.H. (1940). The ecology and geologic role of mangroves in Florida. Papers Tortugas Lab. 32: 304–412
Degner R.L., Stevens III T.J., Morgan K.L. (eds) (2002) Miami-Dade Agricultural Land Retention Study. Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences,University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Denslow J.S. (1980). Patterns of plant species diversity during succession under different disturbance regimes. Oecologia 46: 18–21
Doyle T.W., Smith III T.J., Robblee M.B. (1995). Wind damage effects of Hurricane Andrew on mangrove communities along the southwest coast of Florida, USA. J. Coastal Res. 12: 159–168
Egler F.E. (1952). Southeast saline Everglades vegetation, Florida, and its management. Vegetatio 3: 213–265
Ellison A.M., Farnsworth E.J. (1993). Seedling survivorship, growth, and response to disturbance in Belizean mangal. Am. J. Bot. 80: 1137–1145
Everham III E.M., Brokaw N.V.L. (1996). Forest damage and recovery from catastrophic wind. Bot. Rev. 62: 113–185
Feller I.C., Whigham D.F., O’Neill J.P., Mckee K.L. (1999). Effects of nutrient enrichment on within-stand cycling in a mangrove forest. Ecology 80(7): 2193–2205
Gilmore R.G. Jr. and Snedaker S.C. 1993. Mangrove Forests. In: Martin W.H., Boyce S.G. and Echternacht A.C. (eds), Biodiversity of the Southeastern United States: Lowland Terrestrial Communities. Wiley, New York, pp. 165–198
Grime J.P. (2001). Plant strategies, vegetation processes, and ecosystem properties. 2. Wiley, Chichester
Huston M.A. 1999. Forest productivity and diversity: using ecological theory and landscape models to guide sustainable forest management. In: Aguirre-Bravo C. and Franco C.R. (eds), North American Science Symposium: Toward a Unified Framework for Inventorying and Monitoring Forest Ecosystem Resources. USDA Forest Service Proceedings RMRS-P-12, pp. 329–341
Imbert D., Labbe P., Rousteau A. (1996). Hurricane damage and forest structure in Guadeloupe, French West Indies. J. Trop. Ecol. 12: 663–680
Janzen D.H. (1985). Mangroves: where’s the understory?. J. Trop. Ecol. 1: 89–92
Lugo A.E., Patterson-Zucca C. (1977). The impact of low temperature stress on mangrove structure and growth. Trop. Ecol. 18:149–161
Lugo A.E., Snedaker S.C. (1974). The ecology of mangroves. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Systemat. 5: 39–64
Lugo A.E., Applefield A., Pool D.J., McDonald R.B. (1983). The impact of Hurricane David on the forests of Dominica. Can. J. Forest Res. 13: 201–211
McCoy E.D., Mushinsky H.R., Johnson D., Meshaka W.E. (1996). Mangrove damage caused by Hurricane Andrew on the southwestern coast of Florida. Bull. Marine Sci. 59: 1–8
Odum W.E., McIvor C.C. (1990). Mangroves. In: Myers R.L., Ewel J.J. (eds.), Ecosystems of Florida. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, pp. 517–548
Odum W.E., McIvor C.C., Smith III T.J. (1982). The Ecology of the Mangroves of South Florida: A Community Profile. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Biological Services, Washington, DC
Oliver C.D. (1981). Forest development in North America following major disturbances. Forest Ecol. Manage. 3: 153–168
Oliver C.D., Larson B.C. (1990). Forest Stand Dynamics. McGraw-Hill, New York
Olmsted I.C., Loope L.L., Russell R.P. (1981). Vegetation of the Southern Coastal Region of Everglades National Park between Flamingo and Joe Bay. National Park Service South Florida Research Center Report T-620, Homestead, FL, USA
Olmsted I., Dunevitz H., Platt W.J. (1993). Effects of freezes in Everglades National Park Florida, USA. Trop. Ecol. 34: 17–34
Pool D.J., Snedaker S.C., Lugo A.E. (1977). Structure of mangrove forests in Florida, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Biotropica 9: 196–212
Powell M.D., Houston S.H. (1996). Hurricane Andrew’s landfall in South Florida Part I surface wind fields and potential real-time applications. Weather Forecast. 11: 329–349
Putz F.E., Chan H.T. (1986). Tree growth, dynamics, and productivity in a mature mangrove forest in Malaysia. Forest Ecol. Manage. 17: 211–230
Rabinowitz D. (1978). Early growth of mangrove seedlings in Panama, and an hypothesis concerning the relationship of dispersal and zonation. J. Biogeogr. 5: 113–133
Ross M.S., Meeder J.F., Sah J.P., Ruiz P.L., Telesnicki G.J. (2000). The Southeast Saline Everglades revisited: 50 years of coastal vegetation change. J. Vegetat. Sci. 11: 101–112
Ross M.S., Ruiz P.L., Telesnicki G.J., Meeder J.F. (2001). Estimating above-ground biomass and production in mangrove communities of Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA. Wetlands Ecol. Manage. 9: 27–37
Ross M.S., Gaiser E.E., Meeder J.F., Lewin M.T. (2002). Multi-taxon analysis of the White Zone, a common ecotonal feature of South Florida coastal wetlands. In: Porter J.W., Porter K.G. (eds) The Everglades, Florida Bay, and Coral Reefs of the Florida Keys: an Ecosystem Sourcebook. CRC Press, Boca Raton FL, p 1000
Ross M.S., Meeder J.F., Gaiser E., Ruiz P.L., Sah J.P., Reed D.L., Walters J., Telesnicki G.J., Wachnicka A., Jacobson M., Alvord J., Byrnes M., Weekley C., Atlas Z.D., Lewin M.T., Fry B. and Renshaw A. 2003. The L-31E surface water rediversion pilot project final report: implementation, results, and recommendations. South Florida Water Management District Contract #C-12409. http://www.fiu.edu/∼ ∼serp1/projects/l31e/2003fr.exe
Roth L.C. (1992). Hurricanes and mangrove regeneration: effects of Hurricane Joan, October 1988, on the vegetation of Isla del Venado, Bluefields, Nicaragua. Biotropica 24: 375–384
Sheil D., Burslem D.F.R.P. (2003). Disturbing hypotheses in tropical forests. Trends Ecol. Evolut. 18: 18–26
Sherman R.E., Fahey T.J., Battles J.J. (2000). Small-scale disturbance and regeneration dynamics in a neotropical mangrove forest. J. Ecol. 88: 165–178
Silander J.A., Antonovics J. (1982). Analysis of interspecific interactions in a coastal plant community – a perturbation approach. Nature 298: 557–560
Simard M., Zhang K., Rivera-Monroy V.H., Ross M., Ruiz P., Castaneda E., Twilley R. and Rodriguez E. Mapping Height and Biomass of Mangrove Forests in Everglades National Park with SRTM Elevation Data. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, in review
Smith III T.J. (1987). Seed predation in relation to tree dominance and distribution in mangrove forests. Ecology 68: 266–273
Smith III T.J. (1992). Forest structure. In: Robertson A.I., Alongi D.M. (eds) Tropical mangrove ecosystems. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, pp. 101–136
Smith III T.J., Robblee M.B., Wanless H.R., Doyle T.W. (1994). Mangroves, hurricanes, and lightning strikes. Bioscience 44: 256–262
Teas H.J., Wanless H.R., Chardon R. (1976). Effects of man on the shore vegetation of Biscayne Bay. In: Thorhaug A., Volker A. (eds) Biscayne Bay: Past/Present/Future. Special Report Number. University of Miami Sea Grant, Coral Gables, FL, 315 pp
Thom B.G. (1967). Mangrove ecology and deltaic geomorphology: Tabasco, Mexico. J. Ecol. 55: 301–343
Twilley R.R. (1998). Mangrove wetlands. In: Messina M.G., Conner W.H. (eds). Southern Forested Wetlands. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 445–473
USDA NRCS 1996. Soil survey of Dade County area, Florida
Vandermeer J., Boucher D., Perfecto I., Granzow de la Cerda I. (1996). A theory of disturbance and species diversity: evidence from Nicaragua after Hurricane Joan. Biotropica 28: 600–613
Vandermeer J., Granzow de la Cerda I., Boucher D., Perfecto I., Ruiz J. (2000). Hurricane disturbance and tropical tree species diversity. Science 290: 788–791
Wadsworth F.H. (1959). Growth and Regeneration of white mangrove in Puerto Rico. Caribbean Forester 20: 59–71
Wanless H.R., Parkinson R.W., Tedesco L.P. (1994). Sea level control on the stability of Everglades wetlands. In: Davis S.M., Ogden J.C. (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St Lucie Press, Delray Beach FL, pp. 199–222
Whelan K. (2005). The successional dynamics of lightning-initiated canopy gaps in the mangrove forests of Shark River Everglades National Park USA. Ph.D. dissertation Florida, International University, Miami, FL, USA
Yih K., Boucher D.H., Vandermeer J.H., Zamora N. (1991). Recovery of the rain forest of southeastern Nicaragua after destruction by Hurricane Joan. Biotropica 23: 106–113
Acknowledgements
Funding for this work was provided by the South Florida Water Management District; administrative support from Rick Alleman was invaluable throughout the long history of the project. Many people helped in the field, most notably Guy Telesnicki, Matt Lewin, Carl Weekley, and Paulo van Breugel. Susana Stoffella provided excellent editorial assistance. This is SERC Contribution # 280.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ross, M., Ruiz, P., Sah, J. et al. Early post-hurricane stand development in Fringe mangrove forests of contrasting productivity. Plant Ecol 185, 283–297 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9104-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-006-9104-9