Disturbance Ecology and Plant Population and Community Response

    At the community level, I am interested in the importance of disturbance events (fire, hurricanes, and human use in agriculture) and non-indigenous plant species invasion on plant diversity and dynamics. Past research has focused on regeneration patterns of native and non-indigenous subtropical trees and shrubs following hurricanes in Florida and effects of land use on tropical secondary forests in Puerto Rico. In collaboration with Drs. T. Mitchell Aide, Jess K. Zimmerman, and Luis Rivera, we are studying how tropical forests recover in abandoned agricultural lands. Our research has identified key differences between previous landuses such as coffee and pasture as well as identified important indicator species for characterizing secondary forests in Puerto Rico. The work in P. Rico was funded by a grant from NASA.

For more information on hurricanes and plant community ecology, see: 

J. B. Pascarella, T.M. Aide, and J. K. Zimmerman. 2007. The demography of Miconia prasina (Melastomataceae) during secondary succession in Puerto Rico. Biotropica 39: 54-61.

John B. Pascarella, T. M. Aide, and J. K. Zimmerman. 2004. Short-term response of secondary forests to hurricane disturbance in Puerto Rico, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 199: 379-393.

John B. Pascarella, T. Mitchell Aide, Mayra I. Serrano, and Jess K. Zimmerman. 2000. Land use history and regeneration of tropical forests in the Cayey Mountains, Puerto Rico,  Ecosystems 3(3): 217-228.

Jess K. Zimmerman, John B. Pascarella, and T. Mitchell Aide. 2000. Barriers to forest invasion in an abandoned pasture in Puerto Rico. Restoration Ecology 8: 350-360.

T. Mitchell Aide, Jess K. Zimmerman, John B. Pascarella, L. Rivera, and H. Marcano. 2000. Forest regeneration in a chronosequence of tropical abandoned pastures: implications for restoration ecology. Restoration Ecology 8:328-338.

J. B. Pascarella. 2000. A new record for the rare and endangered tree Eugenia haematocarpa (Myrtaceae) in the Sierra de Cayey, Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science 36(1-2): 146.

Carol C. Horvitz, John B. Pascarella, S. McMann, A. Freedman, and R. Hofstetter. 1998. Functional roles of invasive non-indigenous plants in hurricane-affected subtropical hardwood forests. Ecological Applications 8:947-974.

John B. Pascarella. 1997.  Hurricane disturbance and the regeneration of Lysiloma latisiliquum: A tropical tree in south Florida. Forest Ecology and Management 92:97-106.