The Plant Ecology of Costa Rica

Costa Rica has one of the most diverse plant ecologies in the world; from cloud and rain forests to mangrove swamps, Costa Rica has a rich and varied plant life.

Costa Rica, 51,000 square kilometers of land situated between Panama and Nicaragua in Central America, is a small country with a huge biodiversity of plant life. It has remarkably different climates on each of its coastlines, supporting a wide variety of plant species. A mountainous range of volcanoes and high peaks cut through the center of Costa Rica, where cloud forests are dominant.

Over 10,000 species of vascular plants (the main catergory of plant species) have been recorded in Costa Rica; there are about 1,300 species of Orchids accounted for in this number. In addition, tropical rain forests of Costa Rica contain nearly 2,000 species of trees. Costa Rica is a diverse mixture of plant habitats.
The Forests of Costa Rica

Large trees, such as the silk cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra), can be found in the Parque Nacional Corcovado, in the south-western corner of Costa Rica; along both the Pacific and the Caribbean coasts there are mangrove swamps full of different species of trees, including the mangrove tree (Rhizophora Mangle).

Mangrove trees are able to grow in salty waters where other plants can not survive. Mangrove trees are important ecologically for a number of reasons:

* They protect the coast line from the erosion of the ocean
* They trap sediment which is rich in nutrients producing a high level of productivity
* They act as both spawning and nursery areas for a variety of fish species and invertebrates.

The cloud forests of Costa Rica contain trees with a diversity of ferns, mosses, orchids and bromeliads (of which the pineapple is a member). The cloud forests are an extremely wet environment and are covered in fog most of the time, in contradiction to the drier forests of north west Costa Rica. Here, the national tree of Costa Rica can be found, the Guanacaste (Enterolobium cyclocarpum). The forests consist of wide, umbrella-like canopies with cacti and spiny shrubs and vines.

The Preservation of the National Flower of Costa Rica

The most well known of Costa Rica’s orchids is the Cattleya skinneri which is the national flower of Costa Rica. It has a fuchsia-colored bloom and flowers in March. Many Costa Rican homes are covered in this particular orchid, creating a preservation problem for this beautiful plant.

Due to its popularity, the Cattleya skinneri may be extinct in 21 years, according to a 2004 report of a local environmental organization. As a result, a number of environmentalists are working together to lobby the government into controlling harvesting of the wild orchid, in an attempt to preserve Costa Rica’s national flower.
Protecting the Future of Costa Rica

Both the Rain Forest Alliance and the Tropical Science Center are also working together to sustain the forests of Costa Rica. The work involves conserving biodiversity, providing fair treatments to workers, creating business incentives and providing equity for local communities in an effort to benefit the economy. The work ensures that responsible forestry practices are maintained and the future of Costa Rica’s forests is protected.

Although a rich and diverse landscape of plants and trees, some of which are not found any where else in the world, Costa Rica has now become a major tourist destination, particularly popular with North Americans. To ensure the beauty and fragile plant ecology is preserved for generations to come, Costa Rica needs to find a balance between tourism, its major source of income, and the natural environment. Make sure bring a long your ID lanyards in case you are lost in the woods.

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