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Weaver, P. L. 1999. NPP Tropical Forest: Cinnamon Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1982-1993. Data set. Available on-line [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.
The Cinnamon Bay site comprises sixteen permanent plots, each 10 m x 50 m, varying in elevation and topography, scattered throughout the Cinnamon Bay watershed (18.33 N 64.80 W). The plots were measured in 1983, 1988, 1991 and 1993, and litterfall was determined in 1992-1993. St. John is a small island, 5200 hectares in area, situated about 90 km east of Puerto Rico. The island was dominated by plantation agriculture in the 18th and 19th centuries, much of which was abandoned after the abolition of slavery in the late 1800s. Most of St. John is now covered with secondary forest of varying ages. The 132-hectare Cinnamon Bay watershed is occupied by late secondary forest, comprised mainly of indigenous species. Annual rainfall averages about 1130 mm, with a relatively dry period (<60 mm/month) from February to April.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, above-ground net primary productivity was estimated based upon one year of litterfall measurement (897 g/m2/year), plus biomass change due to delayed mortality (142 g/m2/year) plus estimated herbivory (25 g/m2/year); i.e., 1064 g/m2/year. Pre-hurricane estimates of biomass increment were higher (220 g/m2/year); however, frequent storms (every 15 years on average) and periodic drought appear to maintain the forest in a disturbed state, so the post-hurricane measurements may be considered typical.
Long-term climate data is available from Charlotte Amalie/ Harry Truman airport in St. Thomas, USVI (18.33 N 64.97 W), together with a 23-year rainfall record from Cruz Bay, 5 km east of the study site.
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E-mail: p_weaver@upr1.upr.clu.edu
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