Eco-Hydrology of a Tropical Montane Cloud Forest: A New REU Site Hosted by Texas A&M University

This National Science Foundation REU site hosted by Texas A&M University allows undergraduate students to conduct original research on various aspects of the ecohydrology of a tropical pre-montane forest at the Texas A&M Soltis Center for Research and Education in Central Costa Rica. Tropical pre-montane forests are biologically diverse ecosystems that depend on a combination of cloud and mist immersion (horizontal precipitation) in addition to orographic precipitation and the capture of this moisture by vegetation. There is a paucity of field studies to quantify the ecohydrology of tropical pre-montane forests at the (local) watershed scale, and a particular lack of studies to examine the ecohydrology of transitional and secondary forests at lower elevations. Working as part of interdisciplinary research clusters the students spent 6 weeks at the research station completing original research on spatial and temporal patterns of evapotranspiration, vegetation structure and biomass estimates, atmospheric boundary layer structure, soil trace gas flux, local and regional climate change, and aerosol effects on fog and rain formation. Preliminary results reveal a strong diurnal cycle in evapotranspiration, gas flux and boundary layer development superimposed across an elevation gradient and change in forest structure. This poster describes the logistical challenges of running an REU program abroad, and identifies how development activities, focus on research clusters and the opportunity to live and interact with a foreign culture greatly improved the research experience.