Fern distribution in El Verde CREST plots

A fern survey was done of the plots established by under CREST funding to assess controls on primary productivity along an elevational gradient. The control plots (CP), fertilized plots (FP) and plots where only leaf litter (ll) was removed at El Verde were survey and all ferns present in the plots listed, mapped and measured in Fall of 1995, several years after the initial fertilization and leaf litter treatment had been applied. The objective was to determine the extent to which the fern flora had been affected by the treatments. Support for this work was provided by grants BSR-8811902, DEB-9411973, DEB-9705814 , DEB-0080538, DEB-0218039 , DEB-0620910 , DEB-1239764, DEB-1546686, and DEB-1831952 from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Additional support provided by the University of Puerto Rico and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service.