Effects of Hurricane Disturbance on Groundwater Chemistry and Riparian Function in a Tropical Rain Forest

Abstract

The long-term response of shallow groundwater chemistry to the canopy disturbance and defoliation associated with Hurricane Hugo was studied at two sites in the Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico. The sites differed in bedrock type, dominant vegetation, and availability of pre-hurricane data. At the primary study site, the Bisley catchment, hurricane disturbance resulted in increased concentrations of NO3-, NH4 , dissolved organic N, base cations, Cl-, and SiO2 in groundwater within 5 mo of the hurricane. The largest relative change in concentration occurred for K+, which increased from 0.7 to as high as 13 mg/L; concentrations were still 1.3 mg/L 5.5 yr after the hurricane. Most other solutes had returned to background levels within 1-2 yr of the hurricane. At the secondary study site, the Icacos catchment, N03- concentrations peaked at 1.1 mg/L one yr after the hurricane and decreased to nearly zero 5.5 yr after the hurricane. At both sites, N03- concentrations were higher in upslope wells than in those closer to the stream. Overall, riparian processes appear to reduce but not eliminate hydrologic losses of N following catastrophic disturbance. The nature of the long-term biogeochemical response to disturbance in this tropical rain forest ecosystem is similar to that observed in some montane temperate forests, and the time course of recovery appears to be associated with the speed with which vegetation regrows following disturbance.