Forests in the USVI provide habitat for terrestrial species, including birds, bats, frogs, lizards, snakes, and innumerable invertebrates. The diversity of plant species and complex structure of forests provide a plethora of niches for forest-dependent species to find food, seek shelter, avoid predation, and reproduce. Forests provide buffer areas and sediment retention. Sediment runoff into marine environments is a significant problem for coral reefs and associated habitats (e.g., Gray et al. 2012), and several studies have examined the land-based source of the sediment. A study on St. John identified unpaved and recently graded roads as being a primary contributor to sediment input (RamosScharrón and MacDonald 2005, 2007). Forest cover, however, appears to filter stormwater flow and remove sediment (Benoit and Nemeth 2011), providing further justification for retaining as much forest cover as possible, and particularly where it can act as a buffer against upland disturbance.
Virtually all of the primary tropical forest in the USVI was cleared for agricultural purposes, particularly the cultivation of sugarcane, by the early twentieth century (Wadsworth 1950, Little et al. 1974). Changes in global economics and the decline of the Caribbean sugar industry resulted in the abandonment of a large portion of these agricultural lands, allowing their reversion to secondary forest (Thomlinson et al. 1996, Rudel et al. 2000). These secondary forests now host a large component of tropical species introduced from throughout the world. “New forests” (a term coined in Lugo and Helmer 2004) have become established over much of these islands and are the subject of research regarding their species composition and ability to provide forest ecosystem services to island inhabitants (Brown and Lugo 1990, Chinea and Helmer 2003). New forests tend to be comprised of non-native weedy species such as tan tan (Leucaena leucocephala), that offer reduced value for habitat and ecosystem function. USVI forests also are comprised of very young trees, reflecting past and present land use and disturbances (Brandeis and Oswalt 2007).
In recent decades, the development of sprawling residential communities and commercial centers connected by a network of paved roads has resulted in considerable deforestation leading to degradation and fragmentation of the remaining forests. The adverse effects of deforestation to the environment are well known, including increased surface temperatures, increased erosion of soils, and increased sedimentation and eutrophication of wetlands and inshore marine habitats (e.g., Ramos-Scharrón and MacDonald 2005, 2007). The effects on wildlife include reduction of habitat and resource availability, decreased carrying capacity for wildlife populations, decreased dispersal 15 and gene flow among fragmented populations, decreased genetic variability, increased genetic inbreeding, decreased effective population sizes, and increased risk of local extirpations. Reduction in habitat connectivity reduces the ability of species to migrate from areas impacted by climate change. The introduction of non-native plant species poses another threat to the native vegetation, which is often displaced. An estimated 21% of the flora of VINP is comprised of exotic species (Clark 2003). In the USVI, it is typical