Lake Forest College, Biology, Cary, IL 60013
Costa Rica contains some of the world's most diverse forests with over 500,000 species located on 20,000 square miles. However, deforestation due to farming has caused massive habitat loss for many species across the country. This study took place in Monteverde, Costa Rica, a region located approximately 1200-1500 m above sea level in a natural cloud rainforest. The field site was an abandoned pasture that is currently functioning as a reforestation site. A windbreak divided the field into two regions occupied by an invasive species of Bracharia grass and several species of pioneer shrubs. The effects of above and below group competition on previously planted saplings belonging to the family Lauracea was studied. The survival rate for the saplings was determined to be 39.4% in the region occupied by Bracharia grass and 32.4% in the region occupied by shrubs. The overall infestations of insects and pathogens was nearly identical. The data indicated that competition from the grass and shrubs had no significant effect on sapling survival, suggesting that natural reforestation is not influenced by competitive growth.
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