ECOS: Location
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Location of ECOS (a k a ' Peje') Plots by La Selva grid system
La Selva Biological Station is located in Central America, in the humid lowland slopes of the Atlantic side of Costa Rica.
The town nearest to La Selva is Puerto Viejo de Sarapíqui. San José (blue dot) is 1.5 hours to the south.
La Selva has a mean annual rainfall of ~4000 mm and mean temperature is 25.8 ° C (Sanford et al. 1994).
The study plots, known as the Peje Plots, are situated 5.3 km from the laboratory clearing at La Selva.
Access to the plots is by bicycle, along a paved path, as motorized vehicles are not allowed at La Selva.
Topography of the study plots is hilly, with elevations ranging from 44 to 87 m.
Soils in the proposed study sites are residual soils derived from basalt, with no evidence of volcanic ash deposition (Fisher 1995).
Soils are classified as Typic Tropohumults in the Matabuey consociation (Sollins et al. 1994), are typical of young but highly weathered soils derived from igneous rocks in both New and Old World tropics (Fisher 1995).
Satelite imagery of La Selva, Feb. 2003, with ECOS plots outlined in red. The boundary of La Selva is in green.
Satelite imagery (close-up) of ECOS plots.
References:
Fisher, R.F. 1995. Amelioration of degraded rain forest soils by plantations of native trees. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 59:544-549.
Powers, J. S., J. P. Haggar and R. F. Fisher. 1997. The effect of overstory composition on understory woody regeneration and species richness in 7-year-old plantations in Costa Rica. For. Ecol. Managem. 99: 43-54.
Sanford, R.L. Jr., P. Paaby, J.C. Luvall, and E. Phillips. 1994. Climate geomorphology, and aquatic systems. Pp. 19-33 In: L.A. McDade et al. (ed.) La Selva: Ecology and natural history of a neotropical rain forest. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago.