Fieldsite

Focus

Costa Rica: Los Inocentes

Latitude: 11.016670
Longitude: -85.500000

ORNL-DAAC 2014 Fluxnet Map & Graphics
ORNL-DAAC 2014 Fluxnet Map & Graphics

  • Network: Unaffiliated
  • Principal investigator: Arturo Sanchez-Azofeifa
  • PI-affiliated institution: University of Alberta
  • Primary IGBP ecosystem type: Evergreen Broadleaf Forests
  • Dominant plant functional type: Evergreen broadleaf trees
  • Recent and historic disturbance and management events that may affect this site:
    • Forestry: Forest management such as logging of any kind, plantation planting, or herbicide application.
    • Los Inocentes is a former 7000ha beef cattle ranch that reduced to a 1000ha dairy cattle ranch and now is both an ecotourist lodge and center for conservation and ecological research. It is located adjacent to the Guanacaste Conservation Area. Due to its location it supports a complex array of flora and fauna with affinities to the dry Pacific climate to the west, the wetter Atlantic climate to the east and the cooler lower montane climate of the Central Cordillera. Los Inocentes suffered extensive deforestation in the 1950s, however, transitions in land management practices since then have resulted in extensive areas of forest regeneration.
  • Flux data collection:
    • Start date: January 2005
    • End date: Ongoing
  • Flux methods:
    • Eddy covariance
  • Optical data collection:
    • Start date: April 2002
    • End date: Ongoing
  • Data collection period: Continuous operation: Variable collected continuously with the reported method.
  • Data scale: Stand
  • Collection methods: Tower
  • Types of data collected: PAR, PYR, Optical data
  • Publications:
    • Castro‐Esau KL, Sánchez‐Azofeifa GA, Rivard B, Wright SJ, Quesada M. Variability in leaf optical properties of Mesoamerican trees and the potential for species classification. American Journal of Botany. 2006 Apr;93(4):517-30.
    • Kalácska M, Sánchez-Azofeifa GA, Rivard B, Calvo-Alvarado JC, Journet AR, Arroyo-Mora JP, Ortiz-Ortiz D. Leaf area index measurements in a tropical moist forest: A case study from Costa Rica. Remote Sensing of Environment. 2004 May 30;91(2):134-52.
    • Sánchez‐Azofeifa GA, Quesada M, Rodríguez JP, Nassar JM, Stoner KE, Castillo A, Garvin T, Zent EL, Calvo‐Alvarado JC, Kalacska ME, Fajardo L. Research priorities for Neotropical dry forests 1. Biotropica: The Journal of Biology and Conservation. 2005 Dec;37(4):477-85.
    • Gamon JA, Rahman AF, Dungan JL, Schildhauer M, Huemmrich KF. Spectral Network (SpecNet)—What is it and why do we need it?. Remote Sensing of Environment. 2006 Aug 15;103(3):227-35.