Characterization of the plant community in native forest and exotic tree plantation at the Reserva Forestal Grecia (Alajuela, Costa Rica)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22458/urj.v2i2.161Keywords:
Plant richness, diversity, abundance, coniferous plantation, native vegetation, exotic plantation, Reserva Forestal Grecia, Costa Rica.Abstract
I studied plant communities in native forest and a plantation of exotic tree species (Pinus oocarpa and Cupressus lusitanica) in the Reserva Forestal Grecia (Alajuela, Costa Rica). Plant composition, richness, abundance and diversity were compared across an altitudinal gradient from 1700 to 2300m.a.s.l. (every 100m and between habitats). Fieldwork was conducted in 2008 and consisted of a total of 20 transects with a total area of 0,4ha. The native forest had greater plant richness (F1=2,73; P=0,116) and abundance (F1=6,51; P=0,02) than the plantation, especially with regard to those with more exotic tree density, suggesting that light is a limiting factor for establishment of the native species. Therefore, some management measures such as the implementation of strategies for ecological restoration, to gradually replace the exotic vegetation by native species, could increase the plant diversity and then the general biodiversity in the Reserva Forestal Grecia. In addition, some plant species with particular characteristics identified in this study reveal the importance of the Reserve for conservation.
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