Hydrology and biogeochemistry of tropical montane rain forests of contrasting stature in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica
Researcher: Raimond L.L.J. Hafkenscheid
Current affiliation: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, the Netherlands
Supervisors:
- I. Simmers - VU University
- L.A. Bruijnzeel - VU University
- H.A. Verhoef - VU University
Collaborators:
- E.V.J. Tanner- Cambridge University, UK
- E.J. Veneklaas - University of Western Australia, Australia
Duration: 1994-2000
Funding: The Netherlands Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research (WOTRO), grant no. W76-371; and the Jacoba Ruinen Foundation for Canopy Research.
Research questions
- What are the causes of forest stunting on wet tropical mountains such as the Blue Mountains of Jamaica? And more specifically:
- Are the observed contrasts in forest stature due to: (i) enhanced sensitivity to drought in low-statured forests; differences in (ii) nutrient availability, (iii) 'toxic' concentrations of secondary organic compounds (phenolics) in foliage, leaf litter, or fine roots, (iv) degree of soil waterlogging, or (v) forest photosynthetic activity?
Project publications
- Hafkenscheid, R.L.L.J., Bruijnzeel, L.A., de Jeu, R.A.M., and Bink, N.J. (2002). Water budgets of two upper montane rain forests of contrasting stature in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica. pp. 399-424 in J.S. Gladwell (Ed.), Proceedings of the Second International Colloquium on Hydrology and Water Management in the Humid Tropics. Technical Documents in Hydrology no. 52, IHP-UNESCO, Paris and CATHALAC, Panama City.
- Hafkenscheid, R.L.L.J. (2000). Hydrology and biogeochemistry of tropical montane rain forests of contrasting stature in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Doctoral dissertation, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, 302 pp.
- Hafkenscheid, R.R.L.J., Bruijnzeel, L.A., and De Jeu, R.A.M. (1998). Estimates of fog interception by montane rain forest in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. pp. 33-36 in R.S. Schemenauer and H.A. Bridgman (editors), International Conference on Fog and Fog Collection, IDRC, Ottawa, CA.
- Rozema, J., Chardonnens, A., Tosserams, M., Hafkenscheid, R., and Bruijnzeel, L.A. (1997). Leaf thickness and UV-B absorbing pigments of plants in relation to an elevational gradient along the Blue Mountains, Jamaica. Plant Ecology 128, 150-159.
Selected related publications
- Proctor, J., Bruijnzeel, L.A., and Baker, A.M.J. (1999). What causes the vegetation types on Mount Bloomfield, Palawan? Global Ecology and Biogeography 8, 347-354.
- Schlesinger, W.H., Bruijnzeel, L.A., Bush, M.B., Klein, E.M., Mace, K.A., Raikes, J.A., and Whittaker, R.J. (1998). The biogeochemistry of phosphorus after the first century of soil development on Rakata island, Krakatau, Indonesia. Biogeochemistry 40, 37-55.
- Bruijnzeel, L.A., Waterloo, J.M., Proctor, J., Kuiters, A.T., and Kotterink, B. (1993). Hydrological observations in montane rain forests on Gunung Silam, Sabah, Malaysia, with special reference to the "Massenerhebungeffect". Journal of Ecology 81, 145-167.
