Abstract
Catchments in the Luquillo Mountains of Puerto Rico are warm, wet, and
tropical with steep elevational relief creating gradients in temperature
and rainfall. Long-term objectives of research at the site are to
understand how changing climate and disturbance regimes alter
hydrological and biogeochemical processes in the montane tropics and to
provide information critical for managing and conserving tropical forest
ecosystems globally. Measurements of hydrology and meteorology span
decades, and currently include temperature, humidity, precipitation,
cloud base, throughfall, groundwater table elevation, and stream
discharge. The chemistry of rain, throughfall, and streams is measured
weekly, and lysimeters and wells are sampled monthly to quarterly.
Multiple data sets document the effects of major hurricanes including
Hugo (1989), Georges (1998), and Maria (2017) on vegetation, biota, and
catchment biogeochemistry and provide some of the longest available
records of biogeochemical fluxes in tropical forests. Here we present an
overview of the findings and the data sets that have been generated from
the Luquillo Mountains, highlighting their importance for understanding
montane tropical watersheds in the context of disturbance and global
environmental change