Despite increasing interest in urban resilience, remarkably little is known about vegetation dynamics and associated ecosystem (dis)services in cities following catastrophic disasters. In this study, we examined the composition and structure of plant communities across New Orleans (Louisiana, USA) following catastrophic flooding triggered by levee failures during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Focusing on eight neighborhoods that span a range of demographic and topographical conditions, we assessed how plant communities in post-Katrina New Orleans reflect flooding disturbance and post-Katrina landscape management policies. We then contextualized vegetation patterns and associated ecosystem (dis)services with census-based demographic trends and in-depth interviews to draw inferences about the sociocultural outcomes of urban land abandonment in the aftermath of a catastrophic disaster.
Results/Conclusions
We found that areas subject to the greatest flooding trauma had the highest rates of vegetation expansion during the decade since Hurricane Katrina. Clear signatures of flooding disturbance and landscape management were detected in vegetation patterns across neighborhoods. The importance of repopulation and aggressive environmental management policies was particularly evident, indicating that implementation of assertive public policy can mediate ecological responses to disasters and the distribution of associated (dis)services across affected communities.