Five years of post-fire vegetation succession in a Caribbean cloud forest (Cordillera Central, Dominican Republic)

Abstract

During the 5 years after a man made fire in a cloud forest of the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic, species composition, vegetation cover and height were monitored in a plot of 10×30 m. Forty-four of 92 tree and shrub individuals, representing 8 of 22 species, survived the fire, mainly by sprouting from subterranean buds. Development of vegetation cover showed a lag phase of 1 to 1.5 years and then increased up to about 90% five years after the fire. Colonizing tree and shrub species were dominant in the post-fire vegetation, while immigration of species from mature cloud forest was very low. Longitudinal growth rates of colonizing tree species reached values of up to 1 m per year. Species richness reached a peak about three years after the fire. Afterwards, short-lived colonizing species disappeared and species richness decreased.