Cloudbridge was
created to help bring back Costa Rica’s magnificent
cloud forest. We are planting many native trees to assist in this
recovery. But what about unaided regrowth? Won’t the forest recover on
its own, if left alone?
Nature is
resilient and natural disturbances are part of the life cycle
of all ecosystems. After a disturbance, human or natural, a recovery
process called succession will begin to take place. Recovery of the
forest will start in two ways: seeds dormant in the soil will start to
germinate, and new seeds will enter from surrounding areas. The rate of
recovery will depend, in part, on the availability of seeds which in
turn depends on the proximity of other forest species, and the
availability of animals, such as birds, sloths and monkeys, to disperse
seeds.
 The fact that
Cloudbridge is surrounded by forest means that it will recuperate
faster than in other areas where deforestation is more extensive. The
recovery process follows a successional pathway, whereby early species
(called pioneers) colonize the soil and make it suitable for other
forest species. Pioneer species
must be able to tolerate high light intensities and high temperatures
(because
there is no longer any forest to provide shade).
They must
also be good dispersers, and able to arrive at a new site. Seed
dispersal by bats and birds is very important in the recovery of
tropical forests. Species such as Cecropia are early pioneers, they are
light tolerant, and their seeds are dispersed by a variety birds and
bats -- an estimated 76 species of birds feed on Cecropia.
Other
pioneer species, such as the Heliocarpus one sees near the
Chirripó river, have seeds that are long-lived in the soil, and
that can survive a wide variety of soil environments. High light
levels, and high temperatures often stimulate the germination of these
seeds. Heliconia (the name means sun-loving) and some fern species will
colonize large disturbed areas, if sufficient water is present. Once
these pioneer species have established, their shade often prevents
other members of the same species from germinating and surviving. In
their place emerge shade tolerant trees, such as Tirra (Ulmus)
and Cedro (Cedrela), and arid plants (ones that do well in dim light
and
high moisture such as the swiss-cheese plant Monstera, and
Philodendrons). Thus the forest gradually increases in diversity.
Studies in Puerto Rico show
that some forests recover from hurricane destruction in about 40 years.
However
full recovery of a landscape that has been completely denuded of forest
species
is likely take considerably longer.
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