Combining field and remote sensing data to estimate forest canopy damage and recovery following tropical cyclones across tropical regions

Bloom, Dellena E.; Bomfim, Barbara; Feng, Yanlei; Kueppers, Lara M.

doi:10.1088/2752-664X/acfaa3

Combining field and remote sensing data to estimate forest canopy damage and recovery following tropical cyclones across tropical regions

Journal Article · Thu Oct 12 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Environmental Research: Ecology

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2752-664X/acfaa3· OSTI ID:2067626

; ; ;

Abstract

As tropical forests cycle the most water and carbon, it is crucial to understand the short- and long-term effects of intensifying cyclones on these ecosystems. Soil nutrient status has been shown to moderate forest cyclone responses using field litterfall measurements, but litterfall is one of the multiple cyclone impact metrtics, which may or may not be correlated with one another or with site nutrients. We used remotely sensed vegetation indices to quantify immediate damage and two-year recovery for 42 cases across nine tropical forests in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Australia, and Taiwan affected by 12 cyclones between 2004 and 2017. We tested whether changes in leaf area index (LAI) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) correlated with changes in litterfall observations and how changes varied with total soil phosphorus (P) concentrations across regions. We compared cyclone-induced changes and recovery of LAI and EVI to litterfall observations compiled in a pantropical meta-analysis. We found large variation in changes in LAI and EVI across forests, with the greatest reductions in LAI (−77%) and EVI (−77%) in Mexico (Jalisco) and Puerto Rico, respectively. LAI ( r = −0.52) and EVI ( r = −0.60) changes correlated with those in litterfall across cases. Post-cyclone data showed recovery of LAI by four months, EVI by two months, and litterfall by ten months. We detected larger changes in LAI and EVI in forests with higher soil P, but these relationships were not significant when accounting for cyclone and site as random effects. Principal component analyses indicated a regional clustering of cases related to their contrasting cyclone regimes, with the frequency and intensity of cyclone events negatively correlated. Overall, remote sensing observations complement but do not substitute for ground observations that reveal cyclone damage and post-cyclone recovery in tropical forests, and soil phosphorus moderates some but not all metrics of stability in response to cyclones.

View Journal Article

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231

OSTI ID:: 2067626

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2000760

Journal Information:: Environmental Research: Ecology, Journal Name: Environmental Research: Ecology Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 2; ISSN 2752-664X

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Country unknown/Code not available

Language:: English

References (63)

Temporal and spatial patterns of remotely sensed litterfall in tropical and subtropical forests of Taiwan: Patterns of Remotely Sensed Litterfall Wang, Hsueh-Ching; Lin, Kuo-Chuan; Huang, Cho-ying Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, Vol. 121, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003113	journal	February 2016
Global Tropical Cyclone Damages and Fatalities Under Climate Change: An Updated Assessment Bakkensen, Laura A.; Mendelsohn, Robert O. Hurricane Risk https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02402-4_9	book	January 2019
Forest damage and recovery from catastrophic wind Everham, Edwin M.; Brokaw, Nicholas V. L. The Botanical Review, Vol. 62, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02857920	journal	April 1996
Litterfall and Decomposition in Relation to Soil Carbon Pools Along a Secondary Forest Chronosequence in Puerto Rico Ostertag, Rebecca; Marín-Spiotta, Erika; Silver, Whendee L. Ecosystems, Vol. 11, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-008-9152-1	journal	May 2008
Cyclone Effects on the Structure and Production of a Tropical Upland Rainforest: Implications for Life-History Tradeoffs Gleason, Sean M.; Williams, Laura J.; Read, Jennifer Ecosystems, Vol. 11, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-008-9192-6	journal	September 2008
Species Matter: Wood Density Influences Tropical Forest Biomass at Multiple Scales Phillips, Oliver L.; Sullivan, Martin J. P.; Baker, Tim R. Surveys in Geophysics, Vol. 40, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10712-019-09540-0	journal	June 2019
Assessing cyclone disturbances (1988–2016) in the Sundarbans mangrove forests using Landsat and Google Earth Engine Mandal, Mohammad Shamim Hasan; Hosaka, Tetsuro Natural Hazards, Vol. 102, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-03914-z	journal	April 2020
Synergistic effects of tropical cyclones on forest ecosystems: a global synthesis Xi, Weimin Journal of Forestry Research, Vol. 26, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0018-z	journal	January 2015
Mangrove Damage, Delayed Mortality, and Early Recovery Following Hurricane Irma at Two Landfall Sites in Southwest Florida, USA Radabaugh, Kara R.; Moyer, Ryan P.; Chappel, Amanda R. Estuaries and Coasts, Vol. 43, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00564-8	journal	April 2019
Forest impact estimated with NOAA AVHRR and Landsat TM data related to an empirical hurricane wind-field distribution Ramsey, Elijah W.; Hodgson, Michael E.; Sapkota, Sijan K. Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 77, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0034-4257(01)00217-6	journal	September 2001
Hurricane-fire interactions in coastal forests of the south: a review and hypothesis Myers, Richard K.; van Lear, David H. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 103, Issue 2-3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00223-5	journal	April 1998
Post-hurricane forest damage assessment using satellite remote sensing Wang, Wanting; Qu, John J.; Hao, Xianjun Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, Vol. 150, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.09.009	journal	January 2010
Remote sensing assessment of forest damage in relation to the 1996 strong typhoon Herb at Lienhuachi Experimental Forest, Taiwan Lee, Meng-Fen; Lin, Teng-Chiu; Vadeboncoeur, Matthew A. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 255, Issue 8-9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2008.02.010	journal	May 2008
Differential effects of canopy trimming and litter deposition on litterfall and nutrient dynamics in a wet subtropical forest Silver, Whendee L.; Hall, Steven J.; González, Grizelle Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 332 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.05.018	journal	November 2014
Resilience of a subtropical rainforest to annual typhoon disturbance: Lessons from 25-year data of leaf area index Chang, Chung-Te; Lee Shaner, Pei-Jen; Wang, Hsiang-Hua Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 470-471 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118210	journal	August 2020
Intraseasonal interactive effects of successive typhoons characterize canopy damage of forests in Taiwan: A remote sensing-based assessment Peereman, Jonathan; Aaron Hogan, J.; Lin, Teng-Chiu Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 521 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120430	journal	October 2022
A metabolic scaling theory-driven remote sensing approach to map spatiotemporal dynamics of litterfall in a tropical montane cloud forest Hu, Kai-Ting; Huang, Cho-ying International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, Vol. 82 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2019.06.006	journal	October 2019
Assessment of tropical cyclone damage on dry forests using multispectral remote sensing: The case of Baja California Sur, Mexico Cortés-Ramos, Jorge; Farfán, Luis M.; Herrera-Cervantes, Hugo Journal of Arid Environments, Vol. 178 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104171	journal	July 2020
Multi-scale sensitivity of Landsat and MODIS to forest disturbance associated with tropical cyclones Negrón-Juárez, Robinson; Baker, David B.; Chambers, Jeffrey Q. Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 140 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2013.09.028	journal	January 2014
Remote sensing and statistical analysis of the effects of hurricane María on the forests of Puerto Rico Feng, Yanlei; Negrón-Juárez, Robinson I.; Chambers, Jeffrey Q. Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 247 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111940	journal	September 2020
Pantropical modelling of canopy functional traits using Sentinel-2 remote sensing data Aguirre-Gutiérrez, Jesús; Rifai, Sami; Shenkin, Alexander Remote Sensing of Environment, Vol. 252 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.112122	journal	January 2021
Tropical cyclones and climate change Walsh, K. J. E.; Camargo, S. J.; Knutson, T. R. Tropical Cyclone Research and Review, Vol. 8, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tcrr.2020.01.004	journal	December 2019
Regional ecosystem structure and function: ecological insights from remote sensing of tropical forests Chambers, Jeffrey Q.; Asner, Gregory P.; Morton, Douglas C. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 22, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2007.05.001	journal	August 2007
Tropical Cyclone Ecology: A Scale-Link Perspective Lin, Teng-Chiu; Hogan, J. Aaron; Chang, Chung-Te Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Vol. 35, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2020.02.012	journal	July 2020
Ecosystem dynamics at disturbed and undisturbed sites in north Queensland wet tropical rain forest. II. Litterfall Herbohn, John L.; Congdon, Robert A. Journal of Tropical Ecology, Vol. 9, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467400007422	journal	August 1993
Widespread Amazon forest tree mortality from a single cross-basin squall line event: WIND-DRIVEN TREE MORTALITY IN AMAZONIA Negrón-Juárez, Robinson I.; Chambers, Jeffrey Q.; Guimaraes, Giuliano Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 37, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1029/2010GL043733	journal	August 2010
Impacts of Hurricane Maria on Land and Convection Modification Over Puerto Rico Hosannah, N.; Ramamurthy, P.; Marti, J. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, Vol. 126, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD032493	journal	January 2021
Impacts of increasing typhoons on the structure and function of a subtropical forest: reflections of a changing climate Lin, Kuo-Chuan; Hamburg, Steven P.; Wang, Lixin Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05288-y	journal	July 2017
Hurricane-Induced Rainfall is a Stronger Predictor of Tropical Forest Damage in Puerto Rico Than Maximum Wind Speeds Hall, Jazlynn; Muscarella, Robert; Quebbeman, Andrew Scientific Reports, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61164-2	journal	March 2020
Temperatures and cyclones strongly associated with economic production in the Caribbean and Central America Hsiang, S. M. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 107, Issue 35 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1009510107	journal	August 2010
Hurricane disturbance mapping using MODIS EVI data in the southeastern Yucatán, Mexico Rogan, John; Schneider, Laura; Christman, Zachary Remote Sensing Letters, Vol. 2, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2010.520344	journal	September 2011
Widespread mangrove damage resulting from the 2017 Atlantic mega hurricane season Taillie, Paul J.; Roman-Cuesta, Rosa; Lagomasino, David Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 15, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab82cf	journal	May 2020
A Research Framework to Integrate Cross-Ecosystem Responses to Tropical Cyclones Hogan, J. Aaron; Feagin, Rusty A.; Starr, Gregory BioScience, Vol. 70, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1093/biosci/biaa034	journal	May 2020
Wind as a natural disturbance agent in forests: a synthesis Mitchell, S. J. Forestry, Vol. 86, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cps058	journal	September 2012
Drought effects on litterfall, wood production and belowground carbon cycling in an Amazon forest: results of a throughfall reduction experiment Brando, Paulo M.; Nepstad, Daniel C.; Davidson, Eric A. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 363, Issue 1498 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2007.0031	journal	February 2008
Globally consistent impact of tropical cyclones on the structure of tropical and subtropical forests Ibanez, Thomas; Keppel, Gunnar; Menkes, Christophe Journal of Ecology, Vol. 107, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13039	journal	July 2018
Variation of seasonal litterfall in subtropical montane cloud forests to typhoon severity and environmental factors Huang, Cho‐ying; Liu, Hung‐Chi; Hu, Kai‐Ting Biotropica, Vol. 55, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13166	journal	October 2022
Demographic composition, not demographic diversity, predicts biomass and turnover across temperate and tropical forests Needham, Jessica F.; Johnson, Daniel J.; Anderson‐Teixeira, Kristina J. Global Change Biology, Vol. 28, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16100	journal	February 2022
Linking soil phosphorus with forest litterfall resistance and resilience to cyclone disturbance: A pantropical meta‐analysis Bomfim, Barbara; Walker, Anthony P.; McDowell, William H. Global Change Biology, Vol. 28, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16223	journal	May 2022
Disturbance frequency, intensity and forest structure modulate cyclone‐induced changes in mangrove forest canopy cover Peereman, Jonathan; Hogan, J. Aaron; Lin, Teng‐Chiu Global Ecology and Biogeography, Vol. 31, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13407	journal	September 2021
Visible and invisible effects of hurricanes on forest ecosystems: an international review Lugo, A. E. Austral Ecology, Vol. 33, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-9993.2008.01894.x	journal	June 2008
Soil Effects on Forest Structure and Diversity in a Moist and a Dry Tropical Forest: Tropical Forest Characteristics Influenced by Soil Peña-Claros, Marielos; Poorter, Lourens; Alarcón, Alfredo Biotropica, Vol. 44, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2011.00813.x	journal	September 2011
Forecasted attribution of the human influence on Hurricane Florence Reed, K. A.; Stansfield, A. M.; Wehner, M. F. Science Advances, Vol. 6, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aaw9253	journal	January 2020
Hurricane Katrina's Carbon Footprint on U.S. Gulf Coast Forests Chambers, J. Q.; Fisher, J. I.; Zeng, H. Science, Vol. 318, Issue 5853 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1148913	journal	November 2007
Typhoon effects on litterfall in a subtropical forest Lin, Kuo-Chuan; Hamburg, Steven P.; Tang, Sheng-lin Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Vol. 33, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1139/x03-154	journal	November 2003
The International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship (IBTrACS): Unifying Tropical Cyclone Data Knapp, Kenneth R.; Kruk, Michael C.; Levinson, David H. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 91, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1175/2009BAMS2755.1	journal	March 2010
Tropical Cyclones and Climate Change Assessment: Part II: Projected Response to Anthropogenic Warming Knutson, Thomas; Camargo, Suzana J.; Chan, Johnny C. L. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Vol. 101, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0194.1	journal	March 2020
Insect Defoliation and Nitrogen Cycling in Forests Lovett, Gary M.; Christenson, Lynn M.; Groffman, Peter M. BioScience, Vol. 52, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0335:IDANCI]2.0.CO;2	journal	January 2002
Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4 Bates, Douglas; Mächler, Martin; Bolker, Ben Journal of Statistical Software, Vol. 67, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01	journal	January 2015
Hurricane Damage to a Hawaiian Forest: Nutrient Supply rate Affects Resistance and Resilience Herbert, Darrell A.; Fownes, James H.; Vitousek, Peter M. Ecology, Vol. 80, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[0908:HDTAHF]2.0.CO;2	journal	April 1999
Structural and Functional Responses of a Subtropical Forest to 10 Years of Hurricanes and Droughts Beard, Karen H.; Vogt, Kristiina A.; Vogt, Daniel J. Ecological Monographs, Vol. 75, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1890/04-1114	journal	August 2005
Measuring net Primary Production in Forests: Concepts and Field Methods Clark, Deborah A.; Brown, Sandra; Kicklighter, David W. Ecological Applications, Vol. 11, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2001)011[0356:MNPPIF]2.0.CO;2	journal	April 2001
Welcome to the Tidyverse Wickham, Hadley; Averick, Mara; Bryan, Jennifer Journal of Open Source Software, Vol. 4, Issue 43 https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686	journal	November 2019
Mangroves, Hurricanes, and Lightning Strikes Smith,, Thomas J.; Robblee, Michael B.; Wanless, Harold R. BioScience, Vol. 44, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/1312230	journal	April 1994
Fine Litterfall and Related Nutrient Inputs Resulting From Hurricane Hugo in Subtropical Wet and Lower Montane Rain Forests of Puerto Rico Lodge, D. Jean; Scatena, F. N.; Asbury, C. E. Biotropica, Vol. 23, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2388249	journal	December 1991
An Altitudinal Comparison of Growth and Species Composition in Hurricane- Damaged Forests in Puerto Rico Walker, Lawrence R.; Zimmerman, Jess K.; Lodge, D. Jean The Journal of Ecology, Vol. 84, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.2307/2960559	journal	December 1996
Beyond Tropical Storms: Understanding Disturbance and Forest Dynamics Heartsill-Scalley, Tamara; López-Marrero, Tania Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, Vol. 4 https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.698733	journal	August 2021
The Frequency of Cyclonic Wind Storms Shapes Tropical Forest Dynamism and Functional Trait Dispersion Hogan, J.; Zimmerman, Jess; Thompson, Jill Forests, Vol. 9, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.3390/f9070404	journal	July 2018
Assessing Typhoon-Induced Canopy Damage Using Vegetation Indices in the Fushan Experimental Forest, Taiwan Peereman, Jonathan; Hogan, James Aaron; Lin, Teng-Chiu Remote Sensing, Vol. 12, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12101654	journal	May 2020
Tropical Cyclone Impact and Forest Resilience in the Southwestern Pacific Delaporte, Baptiste; Ibanez, Thomas; Despinoy, Marc Remote Sensing, Vol. 14, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14051245	journal	March 2022
Retrieving Leaf Area Index (LAI) Using Remote Sensing: Theories, Methods and Sensors Zheng, Guang; Moskal, L. Monika Sensors, Vol. 9, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.3390/s90402719	journal	April 2009
Changes in tropical cyclones under stabilized 1.5 and 2.0 °C global warming scenarios as simulated by the Community Atmospheric Model under the HAPPI protocols Wehner, Michael F.; Reed, Kevin A.; Loring, Burlen Earth System Dynamics, Vol. 9, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-9-187-2018	journal	January 2018
A brief introduction to mixed effects modelling and multi-model inference in ecology Harrison, Xavier A.; Donaldson, Lynda; Correa-Cano, Maria Eugenia PeerJ, Vol. 6 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4794	journal	January 2018

Combining field and remote sensing data to estimate forest canopy damage and recovery following tropical cyclones across tropical regions

References (63)

Similar Records

Related Subjects

Combining field and remote sensing data to estimate forest canopy damage and recovery following tropical cyclones across tropical regions

Citation Formats

References (63)

Similar Records

Related Subjects