Hurricanes are extreme climatic events frequently affecting tropical regions such as the tropical dry forests (TDFs) in Mexico, where its frequency/intensity is expected to increase toward the year 2100. To answer how resistant is a Mexican tropical dry forest to a high-intensity hurricane, and if its degree of resistance was mediated by its conservation degree, we evaluated the effect of a category 4 hurricane over the tree community, soil nutrients, and soil enzymatic activity in two contrasting TDF ecosystems: Old-Growth Forest (OGF) and Secondary Forest (SF). In general, vegetation richness and diversity showed very high resistance one year after the hurricane, but several structural attributes did not, especially in the OGF where the tree mortality related to vegetation structure and spatial distribution of individuals was higher. Then, in the short term, SF vegetation appeared to be more resistant, whereas the OGF, with more biomass to lose, appeared to be more vulnerable. Conversely, most soil attributes showed low resistance in both stages, but especially in SF which could face more severe nutrient limitations. The response of TDF to high-intensity hurricanes, in terms of above- and belowground processes, was in part dependent on its disturbance level. Moreover, an increase in the intensity/frequency of hurricanes could lead this TDF toward a high nutrient limitation (especially by phosphorus) for the plants and consequently toward a loss of soil functioning, especially in the SF. This eventually could produce a severe degradation in fundamental attributes and functions of the ecosystem.

飓风是经常影响热带地区的极端气候事件，例如墨西哥的热带干燥森林 (TDF)，预计到 2100 年，飓风的频率/强度将增加。回答墨西哥热带干燥森林对高强度飓风的抵抗力如何飓风，如果其抵抗程度是由其保护程度介导的，我们评估了 4 级飓风对两个对比 TDF 生态系统中树木群落、土壤养分和土壤酶活性的影响：古老森林 (OGF) 和次生林（SF）。总体而言，飓风过后一年，植被丰富度和多样性表现出非常高的抵抗力，但一些结构属性却没有，特别是在 OGF 中，与植被结构和个体空间分布相关的树木死亡率较高。然后，在短期内，SF植被似乎更具抵抗力，而OGF则因失去更多生物量而显得更脆弱。相反，大多数土壤属性在这两个阶段都表现出较低的抵抗力，但尤其是在 SF 中，可能面临更严重的养分限制。 TDF 对高强度飓风的地上和地下过程的响应部分取决于其扰动水平。此外，飓风强度/频率的增加可能导致 TDF 对植物的营养成分（尤其是磷）造成严重限制，从而导致土壤功能丧失，尤其是在 SF 中。这最终可能导致生态系统的基本属性和功能严重退化。