Neotropical dry forests of the Caribbean: Secondary forest dynamics and restoration in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Neotropical dry forests exist today mainly as secondary forests heavily influenced by exotic plants. This project analyzes land-cover change and secondary dry forest dynamics in three distinct phases (land cover change, secondary forest succession and forest rehabilitation), using St. Croix, US Virgin Islands as an example. Using Landsat satellite images and other data layers, I created classified land cover maps of St. Croix for 1992 and 2002. Forest was the dominant (56%) cover type on both dates, followed by development, grassland/pastures and water. A land cover change analysis comparing the two images revealed that 15% of the study area experienced a change either to (8%) or from (7%) forest. Grassland was the cover most likely to change and decreased from 16% to 11%, converted primarily to development. The overall result is a landscape trending toward younger forests, and increased forest fragmentation and development. In a second study, vegetation data from a chronosequence of secondary forests was analyzed for changes to forest structure, species composition and presence of exotic species. The leguminous exotic tree Leucaena leucocephala was by far the most frequently observed tree and dominated all stands, except those over 50 years old. Species diversity was significantly ( p<0.001) higher for forests in the two oldest age classes and there was a strong trend toward increasing canopy complexity with increased age. However, age class accounted for only a small portion of variability in species diversity, indicating other influencing factors. Slope, elevation, aspect and soil were not significant and sites with long histories of intensive agricultural land-use remained low in species diversity and dominated by exotics >50 years after abandonment. In a third experiment, a 'gap planting' method for establishing four rare native tree species was tested on a site experiencing arrested succession. All four species successfully established at >69% survival in 3m diameter gaps artificially created in exotic tree stands. A mulch treatment significantly (p<0.01) increased survival, but not growth. This study demonstrates on St. Croix forest is the primary land cover type and secondary forests are predominant forest type. The species composition of these forests is dynamic, but they tend to be dominated by exotic tree species and over 50 years of natural succession is insufficient time for secondary forest stands to advance beyond the earliest successional stages. These results can be applied to jump-start native forest succession and rehabilitate degraded secondary forests.