Land Development in the El Yunque Buffer Zone
Total Area Covered by urban land: 1998 - 2010
In the 1980s, The Puerto RIcan legislature designated a "greenbelt of agricultural lands to create a buffer zone around the El Yunque Forest." The purpose of the buffer zone was to provide a transitional area from the Forest to the land outside, so that urbanization and its impacts would not encroach upon the Forest (Island Interface Issues). Since then, the buffer zone has decreased in size as development increased. The decrease in the buffer zone is due to government zoning exceptions, the result of pressure from developers, and some illegal development. A USDA Forest Service report indicates that El Yunque Forest ecosystem is increasingly at risk as urbanization in the buffer zone increases. El Yunque's ability to support wildlife will be reduced, and temperatures will rise while rainfall will decrease (Expansion of Urban Land Cover).
Problem quantified:
Urbanization in non-urban zoning districts
As building and development have continued in the buffer zone, there is little agricultural, forest or green space around El Yunque Forest. Pressure to continue development comes from rising real estate values and the economic benefits for developers, which make it difficult for the National Forest Service to buy back land before it is too late. Urban land cover increased by 21%, or 3,297 acres from 1998 to 2010. Urban land cover is defined as land areas with surfaces such as concrete or cement, that cannot absorb water. Of this urban expansion, 71%, or 2,349 acres took place in areas not zoned for urban expansion. This shows that enforcement of the land-use plans is not happening (Urbanization Trends and Zoning).
Impact of Urban Development on El Yunque Forest:
Sustaining life in the forest:
As urbanization increases in the buffer zone, it gets harder for the Forest to sustain animal life. Lower elevations in the Forest and around the Forest produce more fruit than plants higher up, and are an important part of the ecosystem. When the trees in the buffer zone are destroyed as urbanization increases, the animals inside the Forest will be at greater risk in their habitats. Warming at the lower levels of the Forest resulting nearby urbanization will result in existing species moving to other elevations to find temperatures and precipitation which suits them. They may not be able to relocate fast enough as their habitat is destroyed, and may actually die rather than relocate. Relocating upward also changes the dynamics at the higher elevations, when new plants and animals move into habitats occupied by others.
Balance of water:
Urbanization also impacts the Forest's climate, as the temperature in densely crowded urban areas is higher than in the Forest. The balance of water is impacted because in the Forest, warm air typically rises, then cools and condenses to form clouds. Urbanization and its warmer temperatures impact how and when the warmer air rises, cools and condenses, reducing rain on the mountain slopes in the Forest. As a result of less rain, there is less river runoff for the people living outside the forest. Where pavement occupies space that once had forests, water runoff increases, creating flooding, instead of flowing through to root systems.
Loss of transitional habitat:
As land around the Forest is built up, there is less transitional habitat for species who would otherwise use that area for migration. The buffer zone that was designated by the Planning Board, is being eliminated and no longer serves as a protected area. The elfin-woods warbler is one bird known to "migrate vertically, utilizing lower elevation areas." But, the species is at risk because the transition area is overused and threatened by "habitat modification" (Elfin-woods Warbler Action Plan).
Introduction of exotic species to the ecosystem:
With urban areas built up to the Forest's edge, animals such as dogs, cats and mice find their way into the Forest ecosystem. Once they are introduced to the Forest, they are difficult to remove, can threaten existing animals and their food sources, and permanently impact the Forest's ecosystem (McPhaul).
What can be done?
While the local government is responsible for enforcing regulations for development in the buffer zone, there are still activities for citizens and communities to help the ecology in the buffer zone. Activities which raise awareness of the importance of the ecosystem in this zone, getting community groups to work together, and creating new programs can all have a positive impact on the ecological life of the buffer zone.
As urbanization increases in the buffer zone, it gets harder for the Forest to sustain animal life. Lower elevations in the Forest and around the Forest produce more fruit than plants higher up, and are an important part of the ecosystem. When the trees in the buffer zone are destroyed as urbanization increases, the animals inside the Forest will be at greater risk in their habitats. Warming at the lower levels of the Forest resulting nearby urbanization will result in existing species moving to other elevations to find temperatures and precipitation which suits them. They may not be able to relocate fast enough as their habitat is destroyed, and may actually die rather than relocate. Relocating upward also changes the dynamics at the higher elevations, when new plants and animals move into habitats occupied by others.
Balance of water:
Urbanization also impacts the Forest's climate, as the temperature in densely crowded urban areas is higher than in the Forest. The balance of water is impacted because in the Forest, warm air typically rises, then cools and condenses to form clouds. Urbanization and its warmer temperatures impact how and when the warmer air rises, cools and condenses, reducing rain on the mountain slopes in the Forest. As a result of less rain, there is less river runoff for the people living outside the forest. Where pavement occupies space that once had forests, water runoff increases, creating flooding, instead of flowing through to root systems.
Loss of transitional habitat:
As land around the Forest is built up, there is less transitional habitat for species who would otherwise use that area for migration. The buffer zone that was designated by the Planning Board, is being eliminated and no longer serves as a protected area. The elfin-woods warbler is one bird known to "migrate vertically, utilizing lower elevation areas." But, the species is at risk because the transition area is overused and threatened by "habitat modification" (Elfin-woods Warbler Action Plan).
Introduction of exotic species to the ecosystem:
With urban areas built up to the Forest's edge, animals such as dogs, cats and mice find their way into the Forest ecosystem. Once they are introduced to the Forest, they are difficult to remove, can threaten existing animals and their food sources, and permanently impact the Forest's ecosystem (McPhaul).
What can be done?
While the local government is responsible for enforcing regulations for development in the buffer zone, there are still activities for citizens and communities to help the ecology in the buffer zone. Activities which raise awareness of the importance of the ecosystem in this zone, getting community groups to work together, and creating new programs can all have a positive impact on the ecological life of the buffer zone.