Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-cnmwb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T05:20:42.244Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preliminary studies on forest structure and floristics on Volcán Barva, Costa Rica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Angela Heaney  and
John Proctor
Angela Heaney
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Molecular Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland
John Proctor
Affiliation:
Department of Biological and Molecular Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Volcán Barva, Costa Rica, has on its northern slope an unbroken sequence of rain forest on volcanic parent materials from near sea level at La Selva Field Station up to its summit at 2906 m. It provides a good area to study forest changes with altitude and their causes. In the present paper we describe the forests as a background for soil and litterfall studies from 1 ha plots at each of the following altitudes: 100 m, 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, 2000 m and 2600 m. The canopy heights (with height of the highest emergent in parentheses) ranged from 35–40 m (45 m) at 100 m to 20–23 m (32 m) at 2600 m; basal area was least (22.7 m2) at 100 m and highest (51.2 m2) at 2600 m; the tree (≥10 cm dbh) density ranged from 391 ha–1at 500 m to 617 ha–1 at 2600 m. Most trees were identified and on samples of them we recorded presence of buttresses, lianes, skiophytic climbers, vascular epiphytes and bryophytes; and drew profile diagrams. In the classification of Whitmore (1984) the two lower plots are evergreen lowland rain forests; the other four are lower montane rain forest. Species richness was highest in the plot at 500 m, with at least 135 species of tree, and least at 2600 m, with at least 35 species. The Volcán Barva forest altitudinal sequence is briefly compared with those elsewhere.

Keywords

altitudinal zonationCosta Ricalowland rain forestmontane rain forest
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , August 1990 , pp. 307 - 320
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Atkin, L. & Proctor, J. 1988. Invertebrates in the litter and soil on Volcán Barva, Costa Rica. Journal of Tropical Ecology 4:307–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beard, J. S. 1944. Climax vegetation in tropical America. Ecology 25:127–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beard, J. S. 1946. The natural vegetation of Trinidad. Oxford Forestry Memoir 20, Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Beard, J. S. 1949. The natural vegetation of the Windward and Leeward Islands. Oxford Forestry Memoir 21, Clarendon Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Brown, W. H. 1919. The vegetation of Philippine mountains. Bureau of Science, Manila.Google Scholar
Edwards, P. J. & Grubb, P. J. 1977. Studies of mineral cycling in a montane rain forest in New Guinea I. The distribution of organic matter in the vegetation and soil. Journal of Ecology 65:943–969.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frankie, G. W., Baker, H. G. & Opler, P. A. 1974. Comparative phenological studies of trees in tropical wet and dry forests in the lowlands of Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 62:881–919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grieve, I. C., Proctor, J. & Cousins, S. A. 1990. Soil variation with altitude on Volcán Barva, Costa Rica. Catena (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grimm, U. & Fassbender, H. W. 1981. Ciclos bioquimicos en un ecosistema forestal de los Andes Occidentales de Venezuela I. Inventario de las reservas organicas y minerales (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Al, Na). Turrialba 31:27–37.Google Scholar
Grubb, P. J. 1977. Control of forest growth and distribution on wet tropical mountains: with special reference to mineral nutrition. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 8:83–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grubb, P. J. & Stevens, P. F. 1985. The forests of the Fatima Basin and Mt Kerigomna and a review of montane and sub-alpine forests elsewhere in Papua New Guinea. Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
Grubb, P. J. & Tanner, E. V. J. 1976. The montane forests and soils of Jamaica: a reassessment. Journal of the Arnold Arboretum 57:313–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grubb, P. J., Lloyd, J. R., Pennington, T. D. & Whitmore, T. C. 1963. A comparison of low-land and montane forest in Ecuador. I. The forest structure, physiognomy, and floristics. Journal of Ecology 51:567–601.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hartshorn, G. S. 1983. Plants. Pp. 118–157 in Janzen, D. G. (ed.). Costa Rican natural history. University Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Hartshorn, G. S. & Peralta, R. 1987. Preliminary description of primary forests along the La Selva - Volcán Barva altitudinal transect, Costa Rica. Pp. 281–295 in Almeda, F. & Pringle, C. M. (eds). Tropical rainforests: diversity and conservation. Californian Academy of Sciences, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Heaney, A. 1988. Ecological studies at a range of altitudes on Volcán Barva, Costa Rica. Unpublished MSc thesis, University of Stirling, UK.Google Scholar
Heaney, A. & Proctor, J. 1989. Chemical elements in litter in forests on Volcán Barva, Costa Rica. Pp. 255–271 in Proctor, J. {ed.). Mineral nutrients in tropical forests and savannas. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
Holdridge, L. R., Grenke, W. C., Hatheway, W. H., Liang, T. & Rosi, J. A. 1971. Forest environments in tropical life zones: a pilot study. Pergamon Press, New York.Google Scholar
Marrs, R. H., Proctor, J., Heaney, A. & Mountford, M. D. 1988. Changes in soils, nitrogen mineralization and nitrification along an altitudinal transect in tropical rain forest in Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 76:466–482.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, P. J. 1977. The altitudinal zonation of forests along the west ridge of Gunong Mulu. Terminal report to Sarawak Forest Department, Kuching.Google Scholar
Proctor, J., Lee, Y. F., Langley, A. M., Munro, W. R. C. & Robertson, F. M. 1988. Ecological studies on Gunung Silam, a small ultrabasic mountain in Sabah I. Environment, forest structure and floristics. Journal of Ecology 76:320–340.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1972. The Gunung Benom Expedition 2. An outline description of the forest zones on north east Gunung Benom. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) D23:11–15.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. 1984. Tropical rain forests of the Far East. (2nd edition). Oxford University Press, Oxford.Google Scholar
Whitmore, T. C. & Burnham, C. P. 1969. The altitudinal sequence of forests and soils on granites near Kuala Lumpur.Malayan Nature Journal 22:99–118.Google Scholar