Seminar Summary - Disturbances such as drought and wind are increasing in frequency and severity as the climate changes, impacting forests across the globe. In my seminar, I will discuss the implications of climate change for forest disturbances, with particular emphasis on drought and hurricanes in tropical forests. Lianas, or woody vines, are increasing in abundance and size across the Neotropics, likely driven by greater seasonality resulting from shifts in rainfall patterns. Tropical trees exhibit substantial interspecific and intraspecific variation in drought resistance, which may favor some species over others during drought events and ultimately change forest composition. The compound effects of hurricanes and drought, along with changes in these disturbance regimes, are altering forest composition and could lead to an overall decline in forest carbon storage. I will present her research on these topics, drawing on case studies from Costa Rica, Panama, and Puerto Rico, and highlighting drought impacts at the functional group level (lianas versus trees), variation in drought resistance among tropical trees, and the compound effects of hurricanes followed by drought on tropical forests using a large-scale throughfall exclusion experiment.