- Long term forest dynamics plot (LFDP) – Big Grid
- El Verde Boundary
- Canopy Trimming Experiment (CTE)
- Long term elevation plots (LTEP)
- Trails of the Luquillo Experimental Forest
- Canopy Invertabrate Plots
- Gastropod Survey Plots
- Fern Survey Plots
More Information about these plots
The Canopy Trimming Experiment (CTE) was established in the El Verde Research Area in 2002. Initially, this experiment was designed to separate the two principal effects of hurricanes, canopy opening and debris deposition (Shiels & González 2014). The CTE has helped us distinguish the effects of microclimate, detrital inputs, and different functional groups of decomposers in detrital processing and ecosystem resilience after hurricanes (Shiels & González 2014).
For more about CTE see a full description here.
The Long-Term Elevation Plots measure emergent ecosystem properties every six years in three series of plots placed at 50 m intervals along the gradient. In one of these series (Sonadora transect) we compare upland forest types to adjacent palm forest. We also monitor climate, rainfall chemistry, diameter increment, and litterfall. Soil properties and plant species composition have been measured in these plots; we have also conducted decomposition experiments as part of previous LTER research (Silver et al. 1999, McGroddy & Silver 2000, Dubinsky et al 2010). The infrastructure for the LTE, where we will continue long-term monitoring of community changes, was established for vegetation in LUQ III (Barone et al. 2008) in three watersheds (Mameyes, Icacos, and Sonadora).
For more about the Long-Term Elevation Plots go here.
For more about other long term plots see:
A fern survey was done of the plots established by under MRCE funding to assess controls on primary productivity along an elevational gradient. The control plots (CP), fertilized plots (FP) and plots where only leaf litter (ll) was removed at El Verde were survey and all ferns present in the plots listed, mapped and measured in Fall of 1995, several years after the initial fertilization and leaf litter treatment had been applied. The objective was to determine the extent to which the fern flora had been affected by the treatments.
For more about the Fern survey plots go here.
El Verde Canopy Arthropods: We study long-term responses of insects and other arthropods to various disturbances and environmental changes, as well as important roles in ecosystem processes. A long-handled insect net with closeable plastic bag was used to collect foliage-bearing branches up to 10-12 m heights in gap and non-gap plots, within a 15 m radius around the points identified above. Bags were sealed until invertebrates could be sorted. Invertebrates were counted by phenotype; foliage was pressed, dried, weighed, and measured for leaf area missing as a result of herbivory. For more information and data collected for this study go here.