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Structural characteristics and floristic composition of a Neotropical cloud forest, Monteverde, Costa Rica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Nalini M. Nadkarni ,
Teri J. Matelson  and
William A. Haber
Nalini M. Nadkarni
Affiliation:
The Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, 811 South Palm Avenue, Sarasota, Florida 34236, USA
Teri J. Matelson
Affiliation:
Monteverde, Apartado 10165, San José 1000, Costa Rica
William A. Haber
Affiliation:
Monteverde, Apartado 10165, San José 1000, Costa Rica, and Missouri Botanical Garden, PO Box 299, St Louis, Missouri 63166–0299, USA
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Abstract

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve protects a variety of primary montane forest communities on volcanic parent materials. We describe the structure and composition of the forest to provide background information for epiphyte and nutrient cycling studies and for comparison with other tropical montane forests. In a 4-ha study plot in leeward cloud forest, density of stems (2062 individuals ha−1 for stems >2 cm dbh, 555 individuals ha−1 for stems > 10cm dbh) and stem basal area (73.8 m2 ha−1 for stems >2 cm, 62.0 m2 ha−1 for stems >10 cm dbh) were high relative to other montane forests. Stems in a subset of the plot (c. 1/3 of the area) were identified and assigned to 47 families, 83 genera and 114 species, which is rich compared with other montane forests. Large stems had a higher spatial variability of structural and floristic characteristics than small stems.

Keywords

cloud forestCosta Ricaforest structuremontane wet forestMonteverdeNeotropics
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , November 1995 , pp. 481 - 495
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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