Abstract
The Caura River of Venezuela drains 47 500 km2 of undisturbed tropical moist forest overlying the Guayana Shield within the Orinoco River watershed. Discharge measurements and water samples were taken of the Caura biweekly for 2 yr. Samples were analyzed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and various species of these two elements. Losses of nitrogen (9.98 kg-ha-1 -yr-1) and of phosphorus (0.46 kgha~l -yr-') were unexpectedly high. Concentrations of total N and total P showed only minor seasonal variations, despite major seasonal changes in discharge. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that mature forested ecosystems have high yields of critical nutrients because they are not accumulating biomass. The data also show, however, that this mature ecosystem strongly buffers seasonal variations in nutrient loss.
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