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The canopy gap regime in a secondary Neotropical forest in Panama

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Joseph B. Yavitt ,
John J. Battles ,
Gerald E. Lang  and
Dennis H. Knight
Joseph B. Yavitt
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
John J. Battles
Affiliation:
Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Gerald E. Lang
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506-6057, USA
Dennis H. Knight
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
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Abstract

We mapped the occurrence of canopy gaps periodically between 1978 and 1990 in a 1.5 ha study plot within a 70-year-old (in 1978) Neotropical forest on Barro Colorado Island (BCI), Republic of Panama. The total area of the forest under canopy gaps in the plot averaged 4.3% (3.1% to 5.7%, 95% CI). There was high year-to-year variability in the rate of new gap formation. On the basis of repeated observations for four yearly intervals, the annual rate of new gap formation ranged from 0.45% y−1 to 6.5% y−1. Most gaps were small. The mean size of individual gaps originally was 79 m2 (range: 8-604 m2). However, large gaps (≥150 m2) occurred more frequently than expected for a secondary forest on BCI. Gaps closed rapidly the first year after formation but the rate of closure slowed thereafter. Despite the absence of any obvious environmental gradients, gaps were spatially clustered. Even in this relatively small plot, there seemed to be distinct gap-prone and gap-free areas.

Keywords

Barro Colorado Islandcanopy gapforest disturbancePanamasecondary forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , August 1995 , pp. 391 - 402
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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