Over break, I chose to spend some time in El Yunque National Forest which is the only tropical rainforest in the U.S. National Forest System! I went through the “back” entrance to the park, which is near my grandparents house on the east side of the island.
There is so much that is different in this location than Centennial Brook in Burlington, especially the species of plants and animals. I used Seek to learn what plant species were in the area and I found many interesting ones like scaly tree ferns, silverback ferns, yagrumo (“trumpet tree”), scratchbush, several types of palm trees, bamboo, orchids, and soapbush (a damaging invasive species in tropical regions).
It is interesting to note that the mountains of the El Yunque rainforest are at a similar elevation to the green mountains, with the tallest peak in the forest being around 3,400 feet. While both locations had ferns and various woody plants, they looked much different and thrive in vastly different climates, leaving me unable to identify any trees without the help of Seek or locals like my grandfather and dad. The climate stays relatively the same all year round, though I did visit at the end of the rain season.
According to my grandfather, this place has changed a lot in the past few years due to Hurricane Maria in 2017. The last time he visited, he recalled that much of the plants were still just saplings and there were many fallen trees. Today, we can see that the area has regained most of its life, though it is still recovering. The hurricanes that come with the rainy season and the subsequent regrowth are a natural part of the phenology here, but it was interesting to see and learn about how things have changed.
I also was able to hear many more animals like birds and frogs than in centennial brook. I previously mentioned how the airplanes drown out much of the natural noises, but here only the waterfalls were able to drown out the sounds of native birds (bananaquit, puerto rican plain pigeon, green parakeet) and coquís (enjoy this video of coquí calls).
