THE MICROCLIMATE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DECIDUOUS FOREST AND ADJACENT RIPARIAN FOREST IN GUANACASTE PROVINCE, COSTA RICA

Abstract

The microclimate of evergreen riparian forest along the Rio Potrero below a large waterfall is briefly contrasted with microclimate of the adjacent deciduous forest in the dry season and wet season. Near the ' end of the dry season, a station in the riparian forest had soil temperatures 6.5°C cooler, air temperatures 5.5°C cooler and a relative humidity 20 percentage points higher than a station 62 m away in the deciduous forest. In the rainy season, differences between the two sites were largely obliterated.