Land Use-Based Forest Structure and Carbon Stocks of FEIMA, Turrialba, Costa Rica

Abstract

The monitoring of forest characteristics is relevant in the context of climate change. In this study, both vertical and horizontal forest structure as well as carbon stocks were determined for a 28 ha successional forest patch on the Costa Rican Caribbean. This evaluation was performed on the basis of land use and assuming a hypothesis of homogeneity in forest structure. Results indicated that average DBH, tree height and canopy openness were 1.15 m, 20.83 m and 18.5%, respectively. Of the six structural variables determined, DBH and canopy openness were the two most important and results showed a high level of homogeneity in the forest. A calculation of the biomass showed that the forest patch contained between 100-130 T/ha above the ground and a total carbon stock of 1372-1795 T. This investigation represented the first approach to study the forest associated with the experimental station under scrutiny and was relevant to determine baseline data. It is expected that future studies can use the information presented herein for their purposes.