Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Three-toed sloth
KRYSSIA CAMPOS / GETTY IMAGES ©
Tropical Dry Forest
Along Costa Rica's northwest coast lies the country's largest concentration of tropical dry
forest - a stunningly different scene than the country's wet rainforests and cloud forests.
During the dry season many trees drop their foliage, creating carpets of crackling, sun-
drenched leaves and a sense of openness that is largely absent in other Costa Rican habit-
ats. The large trees here, such as Costa Rica's national tree, the guanacaste, have broad,
umbrella-like canopies, while spiny shrubs and vines or cacti dominate the understory. At
times, large numbers of trees erupt into spectacular displays of flowers, and at the begin-
ning of the rainy season everything is transformed with a wonderful flush of new, green
foliage.
This type of forest was native to Guanacaste and the Península de Nicoya, though it
suffered generations of destruction for its commercially valuable lumber. Most was clear-
cut or burned to make space for ranching. Parque Nacional Guanacaste and Parque Na-
cional Santa Rosa are good examples of the dry forest and host some of the country's most
accessible nature hiking.
Mangroves can survive in highly saline environments by secreting salt via the surface of
their leaves, filtering it at the root level and accumulating it in bark and leaves that eventu-
ally fall off.
Mangroves
Along brackish stretches of both coasts, mangrove swamps are a world unto themselves.
Growing on stilts out of muddy tidal flats, five species of trees crowd together so densely
that no boats and few animals can penetrate. Striking in their adaptations for dealing with
salt, mangrove trees thrive where no other land plant dares tread and are among the world's
most relentless colonizers. The mangrove seeds are heavy and fleshy, blooming into
flowers in the spring before falling off to give way to fruit. By the time the fruit falls, it is
covered with spiky seedlings that anchor in the soft mud of low tides. In only 10 years, a
seedling has the potential to mature into an entire new colony.
Mangrove swamps play extremely important roles in the ecosystem. Not only do they
buffer coastlines from the erosive power of waves, they also have high levels of productiv-
