Loope L.L.
Cloud water in windward and leeward mountain forests: The stable isotope signature of orographic cloud water
Thu, 07/28/2011 - 15:09 — ckassScholl, M. A., T. W. Giambelluca, S. B. Gingerich, M. A. Nullet, and L. L. Loope (2007), Cloud water in windward
and leeward mountain forests: The stable isotope signature of orographic cloud water, Water Resour. Res., 43, W12411,
doi:10.1029/2007WR006011.
Abstract:
Cloud water can be a significant hydrologic input to mountain forests. Because it is a
precipitation source that is vulnerable to climate change, it is important to quantify
amounts of cloud water input at watershed and regional scales. During this study, cloud
water and rain samples were collected monthly for 2 years at sites on windward and
leeward East Maui. The difference in isotopic composition between volume-weighted
average cloud water and rain samples was 1.4% d18O and 12% d2H for the windward site
and 2.8% d18O and 25% d2H for the leeward site, with the cloud water samples enriched
in 18O and 2H relative to the rain samples. A summary of previous literature shows
that fog and/or cloud water is enriched in 18O and 2H compared to rain at many locations
around the world; this study documents cloud water and rain isotopic composition
resulting from weather patterns common to montane environments in the trade wind
latitudes. An end-member isotopic composition for cloud water was identified for each site
and was used in an isotopic mixing model to estimate the proportion of precipitation
input from orographic clouds. Orographic cloud water input was 37% of the total
precipitation at the windward site and 46% at the leeward site. This represents an estimate
of water input to the forest that could be altered by changes in cloud base altitude resulting
from global climate change or deforestation.
Non-Indigenous Bamboo along Headwater Streams of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: Leaf Fall, Aquatic Leaf Decay and Patterns of Invasion
Fri, 07/22/2011 - 09:52 — ckassO'CONNOR, PAUL J.; COVICH, ALAN P.; SCATENA, F. N.; LOOPE, LLOYD L. 2000. Non-indigenous bamboo along headwater streams of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico: leaf fall, aquatic leaf decay and patterns of invasion. Journal of Tropical Ecology 16 :499-516.
Abstract:
The introduction of bamboo to montane rain forests of the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico in the 1930s and 1940s has led to present-day bamboo monocultures in numerous riparian areas. When a non-native species invades a riparian ecosystem, in-stream detritivores can be affected. Bamboo dynamics expected to in¯uence stream communities in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) were examined. Based on current distributions, bamboo has spread downstream at a rate of 8 m y-1. Mean growth rate of bamboo culms was 15.3 cm d-1. Leaf fall from bamboo stands exceeded that of native mixed-species forest by c. 30% over a 10-mo study. Bamboo leaves (k = -0.021), and leaves from another abundant riparian exotic, Syzygium jambos (Myrtaceae) (k = -0.018), decayed at relatively slow rates when submerged in streams in ®ne-mesh bags which excluded macro-invertebrate leaf processors. In a second study, with leaf processors present, bamboo decay rates remained unchanged (k = -0.021), while decay rates of S. jambos increased (k = -0.037). Elemental losses from bamboo leaves in streams were rapid, further suggesting a change in riparian zone / stream dynamics following bamboo invasion. As non-indigenous bamboos spread along Puerto Rico streams, they are likely to alter aquatic communities dependent on leaf input.
