Abstract
Tropical peatlands are highly vulnerable to anthropogenic alterations. In Costa Rica, riverine peatlands are understudied, and most are not included in protected areas. This study aims to generating information useful to assess the anthropogenic pressure in a riverine peatland in Los Robles Sector (LRS) of Medio Queso Wetland (MQW) complex. Evaluations of impacts of fires on vegetation and surface peat chemistry, and the post-2021 fire, makeup of dominant vegetation changes with the Cyperaceae species Scleria melaleuca replacing Eleocharis interstincta as the dominant species are presented. The topsoil (0–20 cm) total C content was quantified as lower than 300 g kg−1 with no significant statistical differences in total C and N content between soil shortly after the fires or two years later. The species E. interstincta is observed to promote higher C stability during the dry season, and has a more recalcitrant composition of the root system compared to the post 2021-fire dominant S. melaleuca. To reduce the impact on C accumulation, measures to prevent grazing-originated fires, especially when the water table is low, are urgent. Hence, this work aims at proving information that can be a baseline for impacts assessment and to inform conservation measures and policies.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during sampling and laboratory analysis throughout this study are available from the corresponding author by request.
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Acknowledgements
We kindly acknowledge the support of the Research Vice Presidency of the Universidad de Costa Rica (Grant number 802-B9-460), and Jacklyn Rivera Wong from the National System of Conservation Areas, Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica. Climate information was considered according to graduation project research by Bach. Fernanda Cordero using data provided by the Costa Rica National Meteorological Institute (IMN-DIM-CM-044-2023). Support of students Cristhofer Méndez and Andrés Hernández for samples preparation, and Helber Guillén for the elaboration of the map included in this paper is acknowldged.
Funding
This work was supported by Fondo Semilla (Grant number 802-B9-460) from Universidad de Costa Rica.
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Ana Gabriela Pérez-Castillo, Ana María Durán-Quesada and Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz designed the study. Ana Gabriela Pérez-Castillo, Mayela Monge-Muñoz and Weynner Giraldo-Sanclemente conducted the field work with essential contributions from Ana Cristina Méndez-Esquivel and Néstor Briceño. Laboratory and isotopic analyses were performed by Ana Gabriela Pérez-Castillo and Mayela Monge-Muñoz. Weynner Giraldo-Sanclemente supported the field imagen and statistical analysis. Ana Gabriela Pérez-Castillo, Mayela Monge-Muñoz and Ana María Durán-Quesada performed the data analysis. Ana Gabriela Pérez-Castillo, Mayela Monge-Muñoz, Ana María Durán-Quesada and Hinsby Cadillo-Quiroz wrote the manuscript, and all co-authors contributed to the final version of the paper.
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This research was approved by National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica (MINAE).
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Pérez-Castillo, A.G., Monge-Muñoz, M., Durán-Quesada, A.M. et al. Vegetation and Peat Soil Characteristics of a Fire-Impacted Tropical Peatland in Costa Rica. Wetlands 44, 41 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01797-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01797-5