This study looks at how choosing certain plants with traits like shade, leaves, and crown shape can help Puerto Rico communities face climate disasters. It shows how individual and community decisions play a big role in resilience.
Natural disasters in Puerto Rico, already a constant threat to the island, are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change. This research focuses on the role of individual decision making in the selection of plants to decrease the effects of wind, wildfires, floods, plagues and high temperatures. Initial results from four locations across the island recognize the important role that certain plant characteristics and their environment play in helping them survive and mitigate the effects of climate change. These characteristics include leaves, space,
shade, crown shape, and type of stem body, among others. The results emphasize the power that individual decision making, and citizen organizations have in the design of their environment to face climate change.
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