Vegetation colonization of landslides in the Blue Mountains, Jamaica

A total of 33 species were recorded on 15-yr-old sites and 50 species on >50-yr-old sites. The dominant woody species on all sites was Clethra occidentalis; fast-growing pioneer species characteristic of the forest edge were generally absent. Vegetation development on these sites was slow. On the 15-yr-old sites almost all individuals were <1m in stem length, and on older landslides all individuals were <5m in stem length. For 15-yr-old sites, harvested aboveground biomass ranged between 350-820 g/m², 79% of which was accounted for by nitrogen-fixing lichen. On the oldest landslides, biomass ranged between 970-4690 g/m² and was accounted for primarily by woody plants. Foliar concentrations of N, P, K, and Ca all increased from the 15-yr-old to the older sites. -from Author