Abstract:
This paper compares aboveground forest structure and macronutrient stoichiometry over
5 15 years of hurricane induced secondary succession by species, life history groups, community
6 species composition, and geomorphic setting. Stem density continually increased after the
7 impact of the Category 4 hurricane Hugo and 15 years later, it was greater than pre-hurricane.
8 There were significant spatial and temporal differences in the number of species, the diversity
9 index per plot, forest structure, and biomass. The greatest compositional differences occurred
10 between the post-Hugo and the 15-year census. Prior to hurricane Hugo most plots had very
11 similar species composition and abundances, and thus occupied a small area in non-metric
12 multidimensional species space. Following the hurricane new species combinations occurred
13 and the location of plots was spread in multidimensional space. Diversity indices were
14 significantly different among geomorphic settings before and immediately after hurricane Hugo.
15 However, these differences were not observed again until the 15-year census where they returned
16 to pre-hurricane levels. Plant associations based on abundance, life history traits, and landscape
17 position had measurable differences in their structure, composition, aboveground nutrient
18 storage, and stoichiometry. However, these differences were reflected in a variety of ways at
19 different spatial scales. At the species level differences in macronutrient tissue concentrations
20 were apparent when comparing co-existing primary forests dominants, early successional
21 dominants, high-light and low-light species, and species whose stem densities are negatively
22 correlated. Community level differences were greater for forest structure and total nutrient
23 storage compared to the mass weighted concentrations of macronutrients. The largest differences observed were in Mg and can be attributed to the succession of pioneer species
2 following the hurricane. Over the entire 15-year period, the watershed average aboveground
3 stoichiometry was relatively consistent and this is linked to the biomass dominance of a few
4 species. The successional history recorded here also suggests that community level differences
5 in species composition, structure, and stoichiometry were well established after 10 to 15 years of
6 secondary succession.