UCB Moorea Class: Biology and Geomorphology of Tropical Islands

The process of plant recolonization takes place over a broad range of magnitudes and timescales. Studies of recolonization in tropical forest ecosystems are few in number making it an important addition to the ecological literature. To determine the effect of propagules and biotic factors such as sunlight, substrate and clearing level on the recolonizaton of plants, previosly-cleared plots were paired with adjacent, unmodifed plots in the forest. Species were identified in the plots and their abundance and presence or absence was compared to determine if one factor was more significant than another.The effect of propagules from the adjacent plot, sunlight availability and level of clearing were important determinants in what species were able to recolonize. Substrate did not show variation. Various biotic and abiotic factors are identifiable as determinants in recolonization but the complexity of interactions in tropical forest ecosystems makes predictions challenging.