Wetlands are ecosystems that serve as buffer zones, flood barriers, and habitat for wildlife. The Pterocarpus forest at Palmas del Mar in Humacao, Puerto Rico is a wetland dominated by Pterocarpus officinalis and it was significantly affected, devastated by Hurricanes Irma and María. The objectives were to survey plant communities, report the plant diversity, measure canopy cover, and evaluate water quality in three different zones of the forest after Hurricane María to have a baseline to compare future forest recovery. Zones studied corresponded to the entrance, exit, and center of the Pterocarpus forest. Plant diversity and evenness were determined using Shannon-Wiener, Simpson’s, and Pielou indices. The quality of standing water was evaluated by measuring salinity, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, and bacterial density.
Results/Conclusions
A total of 198 vegetative species were encountered: 67.2% were P. officinalis, 16.2% were Acrostichum aureum, and 9.6% were Caryota mitis. The Shannon-Wiener, Simpson’s, and Pielou indices of all the zones studied were 1.07, 0.52, and 0.20 which indicate low diversity and the presence of a dominant species. No significant difference existed between the average number of live plants in the zones surveyed. The average percent canopy cover ranged from 12.5% in zone 3 (center) to 27% in zone 1 (entrance) compare to 60-70% typical canopy coverage for the Pterocarpus forest (Feagin et al. 2013). The low percent canopy cover denotes the impact of Hurricanes Irma and María on the Pterocarpus forest. Water quality data showed that water in zone 2 (exit) had significantly greater total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, and viable bacterial cells than other zones suggesting it may be the most affected by runoff during the hurricane and anthropogenic impact.