Luquillo Experimental Forest

[1] It was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1976 with the objective of understanding "the long-term dynamics of tropical forest ecosystems characterized by large-scale, infrequent disturbance, rapid processing of organic material, and high habitat and species diversity".

In a forest management plan drawn up in 1956, approximately 6,700 hectares (17,000 acres) were to be used for commercial timber production, mostly the lower, flatter part of the site.

[4] The facility was established in 1988 to study the "long-term effects of natural and human disturbances on tropical forests and streams in the Luquillo mountains".

The upper slopes, with their perpetual cloud cover and permanently saturated soils, are clad with trees of low stature and are known as dwarf forest.

[1] A study in 2018 compared the biomass of animals collected in the forest with data from the 1970s and found a large decline, which the authors attributed to global warming,[11] although the conclusions were disputed by a larger group of researchers working in the area, who were unable to replicate most of the findings, including the temperature change.