Hurricane Damage to a Hawaiian Forest: Nutrient Supply Rate Affects Resistance and Resilience

EcologyVolume 80, Issue 3 p. 908-920 Article HURRICANE DAMAGE TO A HAWAIIAN FOREST: NUTRIENT SUPPLY RATE AFFECTS RESISTANCE AND RESILIENCE Darrell A. Herbert, Darrell A. Herbert Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 USA Present address: The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USA. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJames H. Fownes, James H. Fownes Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 USA Present address: Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003 USA.Search for more papers by this authorPeter M. Vitousek, Peter M. Vitousek Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 USASearch for more papers by this author Darrell A. Herbert, Darrell A. Herbert Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 USA Present address: The Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USA. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJames H. Fownes, James H. Fownes Department of Agronomy and Soil Science, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 USA Present address: Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003 USA.Search for more papers by this authorPeter M. Vitousek, Peter M. Vitousek Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 April 1999 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[0908:HDTAHF]2.0.CO;2Citations: 96 Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Hurricane Iniki damaged a forest in which we had previously studied nutrient limitation to productivity. We had measured the response of aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) to fertilizer applications and had found phosphorus to be limiting. Reductions of leaf area index (LAI) after the hurricane's passage ranged from 3% to 59%, were correlated with prehurricane LAI, and were greatest in P-amended treatments (+P). LAI recovered to near prehurricane levels by 9 mo after passage, and rates of recovery were unaffected by treatment. Mortality of fine roots ranged from 35 to 48% following the hurricane and recovered in 2 yr. Stem damage was largely branch removal, but some stems were partially uprooted or decapitated. Large trees were damaged with greater frequency than small trees, and severity of damage increased in +P treatments. Fine litterfall caused by the storm was 1.4 times the annual input, and nutrient transfers to the forest floor approximated that of a typical year. Stem diameter increment and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) declined but returned to prehurricane values 2 yr later in +P treatments while remaining low in −P treatments (i.e., those without P supplementation). Rates of recovery to prehurricane stem growth and ANPP were greater in +P treatments and were accompanied by a much greater ANPP per unit leaf area (E). The results support hypotheses that ecosystem resistance and resilience are inversely related and that resistance decreases and resilience increases as supply rates of limiting resources increase. However, they also suggest that structural and functional components of resistance and resilience should be considered separately. Literature Cited Baskerville, G. L. 1972. Use of logarithmic regression in the estimation of plant biomass. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 2: 49–53. 10.1139/x72-009 Google Scholar Basnet, K., G. E. Likens, F. N. Scatena, and A. E. Lugo . 1992. Hurricane Hugo: damage to a tropical rainforest in Puerto Rico. Journal of Tropical Ecology 8: 47–55. 10.1017/S0266467400006076 Web of Science®Google Scholar Bellingham, P. J. 1991. Landforms influence patterns of hurricane damage: evidence from Jamaican montane forests. Biotropica 23: 247–443. 10.2307/2388262 Web of Science®Google Scholar Bellingham, P. J., T. Kohyama, and S. Aiba . 1996. The effects of a typhoon on Japanese warm temperate rain forests. Ecological Research 11: 229–247. 10.1007/BF02347781 Web of Science®Google Scholar Bloom, A. J., F. S. Chapin III, and H. A. Mooney . 1985. Resource limitation in plants—an economic analogy. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 16: 363–392. 10.1146/annurev.es.16.110185.002051 Google Scholar Brokaw, N. V. L., and J. S. Grear . 1991. Forest structure before and after hurricane Hugo at three elevations in the Luquillo mountains, Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23(4a): 386–392. 10.2307/2388256 Web of Science®Google Scholar Brokaw, N. V. L., and L. R. Walker . 1991. Summary of the effects of Caribbean hurricanes on vegetation. Biotropica 23(4a): 442–447. 10.2307/2388264 Web of Science®Google Scholar Chapin, F. S. 1980. The mineral nutrition of wild plants. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 13: 229–259. Google Scholar Clague, D. A., and L. B. Dalrymple . 1988. Age and petrology of Alkalic postshield and rejuvenated-stage lava from Kauai, Hawaii. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 99: 202–218. 10.1007/BF00371461 CASWeb of Science®Google Scholar Crews, T. E., K. Kitayama, J. H. Fownes, R. H. Riley, D. A. Herbert, D. Mueller-Dombois, and P. M. Vitousek . 1995. Changes in soil phosphorus fractions and ecosystem dynamics across a long chronosequence in Hawaii. Ecology 76: 1407–1424. 10.2307/1938144 Web of Science®Google Scholar DeAngelis, D. L., P. J. Mulholland, A. V. Palumbo, A. D. Stienman, M. A. Huston, and J. W. Elwood . 1989. Nutrient dynamics and food web stability. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 20: 71–95. 10.1146/annurev.es.20.110189.000443 Web of Science®Google Scholar Fisher, S. G., N. B. Grimm, E. Marti, R. M. Holmes, and J. B. Jones Jr . 1998. Material spiraling in stream corridors: a telescoping ecosystem model. Ecosystems 1: 19–34. 10.1007/s100219900003 CASWeb of Science®Google Scholar Foster, D. R. 1988. Species and stand response to catastrophic wind in central New England, USA. Journal of Ecology 76: 135–151. 10.2307/2260458 Web of Science®Google Scholar Foster, D. R., and E. R. Boose . 1992. Patterns of forest damage resulting from catastrophic wind in central New England, USA. Journal of Ecology 80: 79–98. 10.2307/2261065 Web of Science®Google Scholar Fownes, J. H., and D. G. Anderson . 1991. Changes in nodule and root biomass in Sesbania sesban and Leucaena leucocephala following coppicing. Plant and Soil 138: 9–16. 10.1007/BF00011802 Web of Science®Google Scholar Frangi, J. L., and A. E. Lugo . 1991. Hurricane damage to a flood plain forest in the Luquillo mountains of Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23: 324–335. 10.2307/2388248 Web of Science®Google Scholar Fu, S., C. R. Pedraza, and A. E. Lugo . 1996. A twelve-year comparison of stand changes in mahogany plantation and a paired natural forest of similar age. Biotropica 28(4a): 515–524. 10.2307/2389093 Web of Science®Google Scholar Gerrish, G. 1988. The changing carbon balance in aging Metrosideros polymorpha trees. Dissertation. University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawaii, USA. Google Scholar Gerrish, G. 1990. Relating carbon allocation patterns to tree senescence in Metrosideros forests. Ecology 71: 1176–1184. 10.2307/1937385 Web of Science®Google Scholar Gower, S. T., and J. M. Norman . 1991. Rapid estimation of leaf area index in conifer and broadleaf plantations. Ecology 72: 1896–1900. 10.2307/1940988 Web of Science®Google Scholar Grimm, V., E. Schmidt, and C. Wissel . 1992. On the application of stability concepts in ecology. Ecological Modelling 63: 143–161. 10.1016/0304-3800(92)90067-O Web of Science®Google Scholar Harrington, R. A., J. H. Fownes, P. G. Scowcroft, and C. S. Vann . 1997. Impact of Hurricane Iniki on native Hawaiian koa forest: damage and two-year recovery. Journal of Tropical Ecology 13: 539–558. 10.1017/S0266467400010701 Web of Science®Google Scholar Herbert, D. A. 1995. Primary productivity and resource use in Metrosideros polymorpha forests as influenced by nutrient availability and Hurricane Iniki. Dissertation. University of Hawaii, Manoa, Hawaii, USA. Google Scholar Herbert, D. A., and J. H. Fownes . 1995. Phosphorus limitation to forest leaf area and net primary productivity on a highly weathered soil. Biogeochemistry 29: 223–235. 10.1007/BF02186049 CASWeb of Science®Google Scholar Herbert, D. A., and J. H. Fownes . 1997. Effects of leaf aggregation in a broad-leaf canopy on estimates of leaf area index by the gap-fraction method. Forest Ecology and Management 97: 277–282. 10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00068-6 Web of Science®Google Scholar Holling, C. S. 1973. Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 4: 1–24. 10.1146/annurev.es.04.110173.000245 Google Scholar Kitayama, K., and D. Mueller-Dombois . 1995. Vegetation changes along gradients of long-term soil development in the Hawaiian montane rainforest zone. Vegetatio 120: 1–20. Web of Science®Google Scholar Lodge, D. J., F. N. Scatena, C. E. Ashbury, and M. J. Sanchez . 1991. Fine litterfall and related nutrient inputs resulting from hurricane Hugo in subtropical wet and lower montane rain forests of Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23(4a): 336–342. 10.2307/2388249 Web of Science®Google Scholar Lugo, A. E., and F. N. Scatena . 1996. Background and catastrophic tree mortality in tropical moist, wet and rain forests. Biotropica 28 (4a): 585–599. 10.2307/2389099 Web of Science®Google Scholar Merrens, E. J., and D. R. Peart . 1992. Effects of hurricane damage on individual growth and stand structure in a hardwood forest in New Hampshire, USA. Journal of Ecology 80: 787–795. 10.2307/2260866 Web of Science®Google Scholar Mueller-Dombois, D. 1987.. Forest dynamics in Hawaii. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 2: 216–220. 10.1016/0169-5347(87)90024-3 PubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar National Weather Service. 1992. United States climate highlight feature: path of hurricane Iniki, September 7–13, 1992. National Weather Service Pacific Region, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. Google Scholar Parrota, J. A., and D. J. Lodge . 1991. Fine root dynamics in a subtropical wet forest following hurricane disturbance in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23(4a): 343–347. 10.2307/2388250 Web of Science®Google Scholar Porter, J. R. 1972. The growth and phenology of Metrosideros in Hawaii. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu. Google Scholar Putz, F. E., and R. R. Sharitz . 1991. Hurricane damage to old-growth forest in Congaree Swamp National Monument, Hawaii, USA. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 21: 1765–1770. 10.1139/x91-244 Web of Science®Google Scholar Reich, P. B., C. Uhl, M. B. Walters, and D. S. Ellsworth . 1991. Leaf lifespan as a determinant of leaf structure and function among 23 amazonian tree species. Oecologia 86: 16–24. 10.1007/BF00317383 CASPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Reilly, A. E. 1991. The effects of hurricane Hugo in three tropical forests in the US Virgin Islands. Biotropica 23(4a): 414–419. 10.2307/2388260 Web of Science®Google Scholar Sanford, R. L., W. J. Parton, D. S. Ojima, and D. J. Lodge . 1991. Hurricane effects on organic matter dynamics and forest production in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico: results of simulation modeling. Biotropica 23 (4a): 364–372. 10.2307/2388253 Web of Science®Google Scholar Scatena, F. N., S. Moya, C. Estrada, and J. D. Chinea . 1996. The first five years of reorganization of aboveground biomass and nutrient use following Hurricane Hugo in the Bisley experimental watersheds, Luquillo experimental forest, Puerto Rico. Biotropica 28(4a): 424–440. 10.2307/2389086 Web of Science®Google Scholar Scatena, F. N., W. Silver, T. Siccama, A. Johnson, and M. J. Sanchez . 1993. Biomass and nutrient content of the Bisley experimental watersheds, Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico, before and after hurricane Hugo, 1989. Biotropica 25: 15–27. 10.2307/2388975 Web of Science®Google Scholar Silver, W. L., F. N. Scatena, A. H. Johnson, T. G. Siccama, and F. Watt . 1996. At what temporal scales does disturbance affect belowground nutrient pools? Biotropica 28 (4a): 441–457. 10.2307/2389087 Web of Science®Google Scholar Silver, W. L., and K. A. Vogt . 1993. Fine root dynamics following single and multiple disturbances in a subtropical wet forest ecosystem. Journal of Ecology 81: 729–738. 10.2307/2261670 Web of Science®Google Scholar Smith, N. J., J. M. Chen, and T. M. Black . 1993. Effects of clumping on stand leaf area index using the LI-COR LAI-2000. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 23: 1940–1943. 10.1139/x93-244 Web of Science®Google Scholar Snedecor, G. W., and W. G. Cochran . 1980. Statistical methods. Seventh edition. Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa, USA. Google Scholar Soil Survey Staff. 1972. Soil survey of the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, State of Hawaii. U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service and University of Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., USA. Google Scholar Soil Survey Staff. 1992. Keys to soil taxonomy. Soil Management Support Services Technical Monograph No. 19. Pocahontas Press, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. Google Scholar Sprugel, D. G. 1983. Correcting for bias in log-transformed allometric equations. Ecology 64: 209–210. 10.2307/1937343 Web of Science®Google Scholar Steudler, P. A., J. M. Melillo, R. D. Bowden, and M. S. Castro . 1991. The effects of natural and human disturbance on soil nitrogen dynamics and trace gas fluxes in a Puerto Rican wet forest. Biotropica 23(4a): 356–363. 10.2307/2388252 Web of Science®Google Scholar Walker, L. R. 1991. Tree damage and recovery from hurricane Hugo in Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. Biotropica 23(4a): 313–316. 10.2307/2388246 Web of Science®Google Scholar Webster, J. R., J. B. Waide, and B. C. Patten . 1975. Nutrient recycling and stability of ecosystems. Pages 1–27 in F. G. Howell, J. B. Gentry, and M. H. Smith, editors. Mineral cycling in southeastern forest ecosystems. Energy Research and Development Symposium Series (CONF-740513). Google Scholar Welles, J. M., and J. M. Norman . 1991. Instrument for indirect measurement of canopy architecture. Agronomy Journal 83: 818–825. 10.2134/agronj1991.00021962008300050009x Web of Science®Google Scholar Whigham, D. F., T. Olmsted, E. C. Canon, and M. E. Harmon . 1991. The impact of hurricane Gilbert on trees, litterfall, and woody debris in a dry tropical forest in northeastern Yucatan Peninsula. Biotropica 23(4a): 434–441. 10.2307/2388263 Web of Science®Google Scholar Zimmerman, J. K., W. M. Pulliam, D. J. Lodge, V. Quiñones-Orfila, N. Fetcher, S. Guzmán-Grajales, J. A. Parotta, C. E. Asbury, L. R. Walker, and R. B. Waide . 1995. Nitrogen immobilization by decomposing woody debris and recovery of tropical wet forest from hurricane damage. Oikos 72: 314–322. 10.2307/3546116 Web of Science®Google Scholar Citing Literature Volume80, Issue3April 1999Pages 908-920 ReferencesRelatedInformation