Properties of Some Natural Waters in a Tropical Wet Forest of Costa Rica

Abstract

Rainwater acts as a solvent for a number of important mineral nutrient elements that are cycled within a forest ecosystem. Excess water may also result in the loss of nutrients from the ecosystem to the drainages. The movement of nutrients with water within and from forest ecosystems has been extensively studied in many different areas of the temperate regions (e.g., Cole et al., 1967; Likens et al., 1967; Miller, 1968; Minderman and Leeflang, 1968; Ponomareva et al., 1968; Tarrant et al., 1968; Voigt, 1960a, 1960b; Will, 1955, 1959), but relatively little studied in the tropics. The excellent studies by Greenland and Kowal (1960) and Nye (1961) of nutrient capital and cycles in a tropical forest in Ghana are exceptions. Basilevitsch and Rodin (1964) have reviewed many reports on biomass and nutrient cycling in tropical forests, but relatively little attention has been focused on nutrients moving in water. Similar recent studies in Central America are those of Golley et al. (1969) and McGinnis et al. (1969). Through the Organization for Tropical Studies, a number of research programs have been initiated at Finca La Selva, a field station in Costa Rica. One program concerns the cycling of mineral nutrients in the forest. In this present study, the chemical concentrations and movement of water were measured at positions which are most important in describing some aspects of the mineral cycling process. This preliminary study was conducted over a short time period and is largely descriptive, representing an initiation of large, more interpretive studies of various aspects of nutrient cycling being carried out in Costa Rica.