Seedling and sapling dynamics of treefall pits and undisturbed florest floor in El Verde, Puerto Rico

Seedling and sapling dynamics in a Puerto Rican rain forest were compared between forest understory and soil pits created by the uprooting of 27 trees during Hurricane Hugo. No difference in N and P levels were found in pit or forest soils under two trees with N-fixing symbionts (Inga laurina and Ormosia krugii) compared to soils under a tree species without N-fixing symbionts (Casearia arborea), but other soil variables ( Al, Fe, K) did vary by tree species.