Ecological Observations in the Dwarf Cloud Forest of the Luquillo Mountains in Puerto Rico

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Abstract
Five species accounted for 95 percent of the stems of at least 10 cm DBH [diameter breast height] on three plots totaling 0.22 ha in the dwarf cloud forest of the Luquillo Mountains in Puerto Rico. Mean density for stems of at least 10 cm DBH was 3671 .+-. 516 stems/ha, and mean basal area was 49.1 .+-. 8.2 m2/ha. The aboveground woody biomass on two small plots of 0.0036 ha, one located on a ridge and the other 100 m to the leeward, was 48 and 110 t/ha, respectively. Leaf area index on the ridge was 1.99 m2/m2, leaf biomass was 288 g/m2, and specific leaf weight was 14.5 mg/cm2. Mean annual litterfall rates averaged only 0.85 g/m2/day (3.10 t/ha/yr), of which 79 percent was leaf litter, 9 percent wood litter, and 12 percent miscellaneous material. The rate at which nutrients returned to the soil (kg/ha/yr) averaged 23.9 for nitrogen, 0.7 for phosphorus, 4.3 for potassium, 16.3 for calcium, and 7.6 for magnesium. The annual increment in tree diameter was low, averaging only 0.03 .+-. 0.01 cm/yr. For trees at least 2.5 cm in diameter, aboveground biomass accumulated at an average rate of 45 g/m2/yr. Net primary productivity was 3.84 t/ha/yr.

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