Tabonuco and Plantation Forests at Higher Elevations Are More Vulnerable to Hurricane Damage and Slower to Recover in Southeastern Puerto Rico

Michael W. Caslin, Madhusudan Katti (), Stacy A. C. Nelson and Thrity Vakil
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Michael W. Caslin: Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, 2800 Faucette Dr., Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Madhusudan Katti: Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, 2800 Faucette Dr., Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Stacy A. C. Nelson: Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University, 2800 Faucette Dr., Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
Thrity Vakil: Director of Tropic Ventures Sustainable Forestry & Rainforest Enrichment Project, Las Casas de la Selva, Hc 63 Bzn 3879, Patillas, PR 00723, USA

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: Hurricanes are major drivers of forest structure in the Caribbean. In 2017, Hurricane Maria caused substantial damage to Puerto Rico’s forests. We studied forest structure variation across 75 sites at Las Casas de la Selva, a sustainable forest plantation in Patillas, Puerto Rico, seven years after Hurricane Maria hit the property. At each site we analyzed 360° photos in a 3D VR headset to quantify the vertical structure and transformed them into hemispherical images to quantify canopy closure and ground cover. We also computed the Vertical Habitat Diversity Index (VHDI) from the amount of foliage in four strata: herbaceous, shrub, understory, and canopy. Using the Local Bivariate Relationship tool in ArcGIS Pro, we analyzed the relationship between forest recovery (vertical structure, canopy closure, and ground cover) and damage. Likewise, we analyzed the effects of elevation, slope, and aspect, on damage, canopy closure, and vertical forest structure. We found that canopy closure decreases with increasing elevation and increases with the amount of damage. Higher elevations show a greater amount of damage even seven years post hurricane. We conclude that trees in the mixed tabonuco/plantation forest are more susceptible to hurricanes at higher elevations. The results have implications for plantation forest management under climate-change-driven higher intensity hurricane regimes.

Keywords: forestry; recovery; hurricanes; forest structure; surveys; 360° photography; virtual reality; Las Casas de la Selva (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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