A matter of time - Detecting vegetation change and biomass temporal response to disturbances in the Maya Forest, Mexico

Keywords: Tropical forest, biomass, environmental change, landscape
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 1

Abstract

Windthrow disturbances influence the dynamics of tropical forest structure and composition. Particularly in the Maya Forest of Mexico, a site characterized by hurricanes, the degree of windthrow damage to vegetation has been related to wind speed, forest age, stand characteristics, and human activities. The present study evaluated 10-years of above-ground biomass (AGB) dynamics in 18 forest plots affected by Hurricane Dean in 2007. The objective was to assess whether forests maintain short- and medium-term biomass production increases after windthrow disturbances, as reported in recovering forests through the neotropics. The analysis showed that 12 of the 18 plots analyzed showed a net increase in total AGB at the beginning (2009) and end of the period (2019). The average net change in biomass for all plots was + 0.45 tons. Analyzing the change in AGB (%) from our baseline 2009 biomass over multiple intervals shows a decrease in biomass from 2009 – 2010 (-1.32%), 2009 – 2011 (-9.71%), and 2009 – 2012 (-3.04%). Meanwhile, change in AGB (%) from the baseline in 2009 shows an increase in biomass in both 2015 (9.01%) and 2019 (9.13%), although 8 plots showed negative trends. The results indicate that while plots show biomass recovery after Hurricane Dean, it is necessary to evaluate the recovery dynamics over multiple and extended periods since the plots show a net and percentage AGB change close to zero or negative. We urge further longitudinal monitoring and the inclusion of compositions variable to understand how tropical forests respond to disturbances.