Conservation assessment of Playa Delfín Rainforest Reserve and Research Station, Costa Rica

Playa Delfín is located in southwestern Costa Rica on the Golfo Dulce coast across from the Osa Peninsula, and occupies an area of 115 ha with elevations ranging up to 145 m. The reserve is privately owned by Patrick and Anne Weston, and was purchased in 1988 to protect one of the last remaining tracts of primary forest in the region. A two-week botanical survey in 2011 aimed at assessing the conservation value of the site resulted in the documentation of 138 taxa of chiefly woody plants. Of these 101 were trees, 24 were shrubs, 6 were lianas, and 7 were herbs. Included in the list are twelve species considered to be rare or of restricted ranges, as well as three species representing first reports for the Osa Peninsula/Golfo Dulce region. Four major habitats are described along with typical species associated with each community. Primary forest occurred in the uplands and stream corridors while the lowland section was more disturbed but still contained a number of large trees. Five non-native species were documented in the lowlands but only Gmelina arborea was particularly invasive. These results suggest that a rich flora occurs at Playa Delfín, and, as it was also known to harbor a rich fauna, provides additional evidence of the high conservation value of the site. Already a part of Costa Rica’s private forest reserve system, Playa Delfín received additional government protection as a result of this and other studies documenting the biological resources at the reserve.

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On the efficiency of environmental service payments: A forest conservation assessment in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

Ecological Economics ◽

10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.10.010 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 131-141 ◽

Cited By ~ 131

Author(s):

Rodrigo Sierra ◽

Eric Russman

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Forest Conservation ◽

Conservation Assessment ◽

Osa Peninsula

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Strengthening the Network of High Conservation Value Forests in Boreal Landscapes

Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution ◽

10.3389/fevo.2020.595730 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Grzegorz Mikusiński ◽

Ewa H. Orlikowska ◽

Jakub W. Bubnicki ◽

Bengt Gunnar Jonsson ◽

Johan Svensson

Keyword(s):

Green Infrastructure ◽

Large Scale ◽

Habitat Restoration ◽

Structural Connectivity ◽

Primary Forest ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Conservation Value ◽

Landscape Matrix ◽

High Conservation ◽

Primary Forests

The natural and old-growth forests and their associated biodiversity continues to fade worldwide due to anthropogenic impact in various forms. The boreal forests in Fennoscandia have been subject to intensive clearfelling forestry since the middle of twentieth century. As a result, only a fraction of forests with long temporal continuity remains at the landscape level. In Sweden, some of these primary forests have been formally protected, whereas other forests with known high conservation values are not. Collectively, both protected and not protected known valuable primary forests are included in a nationally delineated network of high conservation value forests (HCVF). In addition to HCVF, older forests that have not been clearfelled since the mid-1900s, i.e., “proxy continuity forests,” have recently been mapped across the entire boreal biome in Sweden. In this paper, we analyze how these proxy continuity forests may strengthen the HCVF network from a green infrastructure perspective. First, we evaluate the spatial overlap between proxy continuity forests and HCVF. Second, we perform a large-scale connectivity analysis, in which we show that adding proxy continuity forests located outside HCVF strongly increases the structural connectivity of the network of protected forests. Finally, by assessing habitat suitability for virtual species specialized in pine, spruce, and broadleaf forests, we find large regional differences in the ability to secure habitat and thereby functional green infrastructure by considering currently unprotected primary forest. We show that, by adding those forests to the network, the area of habitat for low-demanding species dependent on spruce or pine forests can be largely increased. For high-demanding species, additional habitat restoration in the landscape matrix is needed. By contrast, even counting all valuable broadleaf forests available is not enough to provide a suitable habitat for their associated species, which indicates a large need for landscape-scale habitat restoration initiatives, in particular, for broadleaf forests.

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Floristic diversity and conservation value of the biodiversity refuge area of the Soubré hydroelectric dam (South-West of Côte d'Ivoire)

International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences ◽

10.4314/ijbcs.v15i4.15 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 1479-1493

Author(s):

Yao Jean-Clovis Kouadio ◽

Abdoulaye Cissé ◽

Kouassi Bruno Kpangui ◽

Marie-Solange Tiébré ◽

Djakalia Ouattara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Local Population ◽

Conservation Value ◽

Ethnobotanical Survey ◽

Species List ◽

Conservation Area ◽

Hydroelectric Dam ◽

Medicinal Use ◽

High Conservation ◽

Ricinodendron Heudelotii ◽

Rich Flora

After the establishment of the biodiversity conservation area of the Soubré hydroelectric dam, scientific studies showing its value as a biodiversity reserve and its importance for the population were not implemented. As a result, no sustainable management strategy has been initiated. this study was conducted to make up for this shortcoming. It aims to assess its conservation value. The data collection methodology combined botanical inventories and an ethnobotanical survey. The analyse of data was based on the plant diversity and the importance of the area for local populations. Investigations show a rich flora of 346 species. There are 38 endemic species, 10 vulnerable and 8 locally threatened with extinction. This flora richness allows to attribute to the conservation area the High Conservation Value of category 1 (HCV 1). Among the species list, 84 are cited by the populations as useful plants. The use categories are, in order of importance, medicinal use, food use, Handicrafted use, timber. The organs sought are mainly the leaves in the practice of traditional medicine, the fruits in food and the stem in crafts, timber and firewood. Among useful species, 13 are very important for local population. Of these, 6 are less abundant in the area such as Ricinodendron heudelotii, Carpolobia lutea G. Don. The capacity for the area to serve as a refuge for useful species gives it the HCV 5. These results will allow the implementation of appropriate management.

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Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica: A unique opportunity to drill and instrument the seismogenic zone of large megathrust earthquakes

10.32858/temblor.026 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Marino Protti ◽

◽

Nathan Bangs ◽

Peter Baumgartner ◽

Donald Fisher ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Seismogenic Zone ◽

Osa Peninsula ◽

Megathrust Earthquakes

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High conservation value approach in controlling water catchment area as a provider of environmental services

IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science ◽

10.1088/1755-1315/644/1/012038 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 644 (1) ◽

pp. 012038

Author(s):

T E Syafjanuar ◽

K Siregar ◽

I Ramli

Keyword(s):

Catchment Area ◽

Environmental Services ◽

Conservation Value ◽

Water Catchment Area ◽

High Conservation ◽

Water Catchment

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New species of Calathea (Marantaceae) endemic to Costa Rica

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b97-848 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 75 (8) ◽

pp. 1356-1362 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Helen Kennedy

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Costa Rica ◽

Key Words ◽

Osa Peninsula ◽

The Pacific ◽

Pacific Slope ◽

Cordillera De Talamanca

Calathea hylaeanthoides Kennedy, Calathea retroflexa Kennedy, and Calathea incompta Kennedy are described as new. All three species are endemic to Costa Rica. Calathea hylaeanthoides and C. incompta are from the Osa Peninsula, while C. retroflexa is from midelevation on the Pacific slope of the Cordillera de Talamanca. Calathea hylaeanthoides belongs to Calathea section Breviscapus, C. retroflexa belongs to Calathea section Calathea, and C. incompta belongs to the "Ornata group" of Calathea. Key words: Marantaceae, Calathea, Costa Rica, endemism.

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Biomass and Soil Carbon Stocks in Wet Montane Forest, Monteverde Region, Costa Rica: Assessments and Challenges for Quantifying Accumulation Rates

International Journal of Forestry Research ◽

10.1155/2016/5812043 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lawrence H. Tanner ◽

Megan T. Wilckens ◽

Morgan A. Nivison ◽

Katherine M. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Costa Rica ◽

Soil Carbon ◽

Secondary Forest ◽

Cloud Forest ◽

Montane Forest ◽

Carbon Stocks ◽

Age Difference ◽

Biomass Carbon ◽

Mature Forest ◽

Large Trees

We measured carbon stocks at two forest reserves in the cloud forest region of Monteverde, comparing cleared land, experimental secondary forest plots, and mature forest at each location to assess the effectiveness of reforestation in sequestering biomass and soil carbon. The biomass carbon stock measured in the mature forest at the Monteverde Institute is similar to other measurements of mature tropical montane forest biomass carbon in Costa Rica. Local historical records and the distribution of large trees suggest a mature forest age of greater than 80 years. The forest at La Calandria lacks historical documentation, and dendrochronological dating is not applicable. However, based on the differences in tree size, above-ground biomass carbon, and soil carbon between the Monteverde Institute and La Calandria sites, we estimate an age difference of at least 30 years of the mature forests. Experimental secondary forest plots at both sites have accumulated biomass at lower than expected rates, suggesting local limiting factors, such as nutrient limitation. We find that soil carbon content is primarily a function of time and that altitudinal differences between the study sites do not play a role.

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