Variation in Forest Structure, Dynamics, and Composition Across 108 ha of Large Forest Plots on Barro Colorado Island

In addition to the iconic 50-ha plot, Barro Colorado Island (BCI) hosts 58 ha of other large (≥6 ha) mapped forest plots censused for trees ≥20 cm in trunk diameter in 2004 and 2014, as well as several smaller plots. The 50-ha plot is located entirely on the Upper Igneous Unit geological formation and mostly in old-growth forest, whereas the other large plots include 37 ha in old secondary forest, and 11 ha on the Bohio Volcanic geological formation. Across the large plots, aboveground biomass and aboveground woody productivity are higher in old growth than secondary forest, and tree mortality rates are higher on the Upper Igneous Unit than on other geological formations. Tree species composition varies significantly but modestly with forest age and geology. These large plots are an important resource for scientists working on BCI and should be maintained and expanded to capture additional landscape-level variation.