Comparison of Species Composition between Regeneration Plots Planted in 1995 and 1996 in the Rincon de la Vieja-Cacao Biological Corridor

Abstract

The purpose of the Rincon-Cacao biological corridor is to connect the two isolated tropical forest regions of Volcan Rincon de la Vieja and Volcan Cacao. Our study compared the density of woody species and overall species richness in the 1995 island plots after twenty-four months of growth and in the ten hectare region after six months of growth. Using the data from David Morales’ 1996 study, we were able to check the progress of the 1995 islands after six and twenty-four months. We expected a decrease in the number of herbaceous species in the 1995 islands after twenty-four months of growth due to shading. Results showed, however, that the number of herbaceous species actually increased. We also anticipated an increase in both the number of bird and bat dispersed woody species and individuals in the 1995 islands after twenty-four months time. This hypothesis was not supported because the number of bird and bat dispersed woody individuals decreased and the number of species remained constant. Finally, we hypothesized that the density of woody species and overall species richness, with respect to dispersal method, would be different in the 1995 islands than in the 1996 ten hectare region when compared after six months of growth. We found that there was a much greater number of species at the 1996 ten hectare region. 1 lowever, we were not able to make any conclusions on the density of woody species because of a lack of background data.