Catchment science in the montane tropics: Luquillo CZO and LTER.
Abstract
The Luquillo Experimental Forest, Puerto Rico (LEF) is home to the Luquillo Critical Zone Observatory (LCZO), Luquillo Long-Term Experimental Research (LUQ LTER), and the El Yunque National Forest. As the only tropical rain forest within the US national forest system, data collected by the US Forest Service International Institute of Tropical Forestry and long-term academic research partners provide valuable information about the Luquillo Mountains. For researchers, the catchments of the LEF serve as a critical end member in the global community of catchment science. The catchments of Luquillo offer a diversity of environmental gradients including lithology (primarily volcaniclastic and granodiorite), forest composition, elevation (200-1000 m) and precipitation (1000-5000 mm/yr). For local citizens, the Luquillo Mountains provide a significant amount of urban Puerto Rico's drinking water supply, numerous recreational opportunities, and important habitat for the globally endangered Puerto Rican parrot. A recurring theme for both the research community and the general population in Puerto Rico is the effects of frequent hurricane disturbance, including Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFMPA11C0988L
- Keywords:
-
- 0439 Ecosystems;
- structure and dynamics;
- BIOGEOSCIENCES;
- 1848 Monitoring networks;
- HYDROLOGY;
- 6329 Project evaluation;
- POLICY SCIENCES & PUBLIC ISSUES;
- 6610 Funding;
- PUBLIC ISSUES