Influencia de los rasgos funcionales en las respuestas de los árboles a los huracanes en bosques secos tropicales insulares

Abstract

Hurricanes are intense disturbances that affect the composition, structure, and functioning of insular tropical ecosystems. However, little is known about how these extreme events affect functional diversity in tropical dry forests. We evaluated the effect of Hurricane Iota (November 2020, category 5) on the composition and functional diversity of the woody vegetation on the islands of Old Providence and Santa Catalina, in the Colombian Caribbean, in order to provide inputs for the design of restoration strategies. We used 47 transects and 29 permanent plots of 0.01 ha sampled between 2021 and 2022, where we measured eight functional traits (five hydraulic and three mechanical) in 436 individuals of 103 species and estimated the aboveground biomass of 2423 individuals. Our analyses revealed a functional gradient defined by a trade-off between hydraulic efficiency and mechanical resistance. We found that 90.5% of individuals survived, although 36.9% showed structural damage, and that the functional dissimilarity between live and dead biomass was significant (β₀ = 0.357; p = 0.032). The surviving species tended to have high hydraulic efficiency, while those with denser wood, higher Modulus of Rupture (MOR) and Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) were more affected. Additionally, we did not detect any clear associations between traits and types of damage. We grouped the species into four functional groups (resistant, lost, intermediate, and rare) according to their relative contribution to live and dead biomass. We conclude that the hurricane acted as an environmental filter that favored species with efficient hydraulic strategies. Post-hurricane restoration should prioritize species with efficient hydraulic strategies in early phases, integrate mechanical conservative groups in successional stages, and include rare species to maintain functional diversity and ensure long-term resilience.