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Abstract: Many studies of tropical forest ecology occur in protected areas such as national parks. We have a limited understanding of the composition and structure of trees in areas outside forests, such as urban areas or along roads. Here we report three datasets that are critical for understanding how tree communities differ in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Our data allow the user to contrast trees in three different land-use types that represent a rural to urban gradient: forests inside conservation areas (20 plots), fencerows (68 plots), and municipal parks (36 parks). We measured and identified trees >7cm diameter in addition to collecting ancillary data such as plot area (in hectares) and canopy cover (in percent). We also collated information for each identified species on functional characteristics including: status as native to Guanacaste, Costa Rica, leaf habit (evergreen, deciduous, or other) and whether the tree species produces fruit that are edible for humans. Collectively, these data allow the user to calculate stand-level properties such as basal area and percentage of the tree community that is evergreen. TechnicalInfo: # Data on composition and structure of trees inside and outside of forests in Guanacaste, Costa Rica: comparisons among conservation areas, fencerows, and municipal parks Authors: Jennifer S. Powers, Finnegan K. Powers-Tiffin, Pooja Choksi, Forrest Flieschman, German Vargas, Justin Becknell,Catherine Hulshof, Michael J. O’Brien, Naomi Schwartz, Chris Smith-Martin, and David Medvigy This README file describes the data files used in the paper. For any questions please contact Jennifer Powers ([powers@umn.edu](mailto:powers@umn.edu)). The following files are included: **Meta_data_for_trees_along_rural_urban_gradients_Guanacaste_Costa_Rica.csv** Variable names and column descriptions: ``` site_identification unique identifier for each site, denotes both the type of site and site number variable the variable whose value is displayed in value value the corresponding value for the variable column ``` **Species_traits_for_trees_along_rural_urban_gradients_Guanacaste_Costa_Rica.csv** Variable names and column descriptions: ``` species_code species identifier that is the first three letters of genus and species name family species family binomial_name genus and species leaf_habit describes the leaf habits deciduous denotes whether the tree is deciduous (yes) or no native denotes whether the tree is native to Central America (yes) or no edible_fruit denotes whether the tree contains edible fruit for people (yes) or no region the tree's native region if not Central America ``` **Tree_stem_data_for_trees_along_rural_urban_gradients_Guanacaste_Costa_Rica.csv** Variable names and column descriptions: ``` site_identification unique identifier that denotes both the type of site and site number species species scientific name diameter_cm diameter of stem in cm multi-stem blank means it is not part of a multistem tree and a letter is a label for which stem it is part_of_fence denotes whether the tree is part of a fence or now REC_NO unique stem identifier species_code species identifier that is the first three letters of genus and species name land_use denotes fencerow, municipal park or national park ``` References: "Composition and structure of trees inside and outside of forests in Guanacaste, Costa Rica: comparisons among national parks, fencerows, and municipal parks". In preparation for submission to Biotropica. ---
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This content will become publicly available on March 1, 2027
Trees Inside and Outside of Forests in Guanacaste, Costa Rica: Comparisons Among Conservation Areas, Fencerows, and Urban Parks
ABSTRACT Many studies on the ecology of tropical trees occur in protected areas such as national parks. But we know little of the composition and structure of trees in areas outside protected forests, such as urban areas or along roads. Our goal was to contrast trees in three different land‐use types that represent an unmanaged or rural to urban gradient in Guanacaste, Costa Rica: forests inside conservation areas, fencerows, and urban parks. We hypothesized that: (1) trees in fencerows and urban parks have larger mean diameters, lower densities, and less plot‐level canopy cover and basal area; (2) tree diversity does not vary along rural to urban gradients, but trees in urban parks have comparatively more non‐native species and fewer native species. We measured and identified trees ≥ 7 cm diameter in replicated plots. Consistent with expectations, tree density and canopy cover were higher in conservation areas compared to fencerows or urban parks. However, basal area was lower in fencerows compared to both other land uses. Parks were dominated by large diameter trees, while conservation areas had smaller stems. When comparing land uses from the perspectives of biodiversity and provisioning ecosystem services such as edible fruit and shade, trees inside forests in conservation areas and outside forests in urban parks in Guanacaste provide complementary benefits to people and are not substitutable. We conclude that understanding trees both inside and outside of forests provides a broader context for studies situated in protected areas and an informative comparison for studies in urban areas.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2217752
- PAR ID:
- 10704122
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Biotropica
- Volume:
- 58
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0006-3606
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- biodiversity | ecosystem services | landscape management | natural forest to urban forest gradient | seasonally dry tropical forest
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Associated Dataset(s):
- View Associated Dataset(s) >>
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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