Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Forest Area in Costa Rica: A Comparative Study of Tropical Forest Cover Estimates over Time

  • Published:
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Forest area figures, at a given point in time and for a given region of interest, differ considerably, affecting the calculation of deforestation rates and thus confuse the political and scientific discussion on the state and change of the resource forest. This article discusses the variation of published forest cover figures, using Costa Rica as an example. A list of published figures on the forest cover of Costa Rica from 1940 onwards is analyzed. Reasons for the differences are hypothesized and discussed. These differences are mainly in the definition of forest and forest classes included, in the type of the studies conducted (mapping and/or sampling), in the precision of the estimates, and in the information sources used. It is concluded that part of the problem is inherent in the nature of the resource `forest'. Quality and completeness of the presentation of the forest cover estimates are a clue to their correct understanding and interpretation. The latter point being especially relevant, as forest cover data have both a technical-scientific and a political meaning and are used as relevant arguments in many discussions. In the example of Costa Rica, a general downward trend is observed up to about 1985/1990, whereas after that forest area figures are on the average at a markedly higher level. Some hypotheses for this change in the trend are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Calvo, J. C., Watson, V., Bolaños, R., Quesada, C., Sánchez, A., Gómez, P. and Ramírez, M.: 1999, 'Estudio de cobertura forestal de Costa Rica empleando imágenes LANDSAT 1986/87 y 1996/1997', in: Memorias del XI Congreso Nacional Agronómico 1999, pp. 461–466.

  • Castro, R. and Tattenbach, F.: 1997, The Costa Rican Experience withMarket Instruments toMitigate Climate Change and Conserve Biodiversity, San José, Costa Rica. FUNDECOR and MINAE.

    Google Scholar 

  • CCAD: 1998, State of the Environment and Natural Resources in Central America 1999, (comp. by J. Rodriguez), First English version, San José, Costa Rica, 176 p.

  • CCAD, USAID: 1998, Estimación de la cantidad de carbono almacenado y captado (masa aérea) por los bosques de Costa Rica, 50 p.

  • CCAD, CCAB-AP, IUCN-HORMA: 1997/1998, Diagnóstico forestal de Costa Rica, Preliminary version, San José.

  • CCT, CIEDES: 1998, Estudio de cobertura forestal actual (1996/1997) y de cambio de cobertura para el Período entre 1986/1987 y 1996/1997 para Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica, 19 p. + annexos.

  • Congalton, R. and Green, K.: 1999, Assessing the Accuracy of Remotely Sensed Data: Principles and Practices, CRC Press, Inc. 137 p.

  • Cunia, T.: 1978, 'On the Objectives and Methodology of National Forest Inventory Systems', in Proceedings of the IUFRO S4.02 and S4.04 Joint Meeting on National Forest Inventory, June 18-24 1978, Bukarest, Romania, p. XI–XXVIII.

  • DeVries, P. G.: 1986, Sampling Theory for Forest Inventory, Berlin, Springer, 399 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Escofet, G.: 1998, Forest Report Disputed, The Tico Times, March 20, 1998, San José, Costa Rica.

  • European Commission: 1997, Study on European Forestry Information and Communication System. Reports on forest inventory and survey systems, Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2 Vol., 1328 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO: 1981, Manual of Forest Inventory, FAO Forestry Paper 27, 200 p.

  • FAO: 1993, Forest resources assessment 1990, Tropical countries, FAO Forestry Paper 112, 61 p. + annexes.

  • Flores Rodas, J. G.: 1985, Diagnóstico del sector industrial forestal, Editorial Universidad Estatal a Distancia, 116 p.

  • FONAFIFO, PNUD: 1999, El Desarrollo del Sistema de Pago de Servicios Ambientales en Costa Rica. Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal y Programa de las Naciones Unidas para El Desarrollo, San José, Costa Rica.

  • Harcourt, C. S. and Sayer, J. A.: 1996, The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: The Americas, London, U.K., Macmillan, 333 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, S.: 1991, 'Population growth, land use and deforestation in Costa Rica, 1950-1984', Intersciencia 16(1), 83–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hartshorn, G. and 16 further authors: 1982, Costa Rica - Country Environmental Profile. A Field Study, Tropical Science Center. San José, Costa Rica, 123 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holdridge, L. R., Grenke, W. C., Hatheway, W. H., Liang, T. and Tosi Jr., J. A.: 1970, Forest Environments in Tropical Life Zones. A Pilot Study, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 747 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husch, B.: 1971, Planificación de un Inventario Forestal, FAO, Roma, Italia, 134 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Husch, B.: 1978, 'Why Carry out National Forest Inventories?', in Proceedings of the IUFRO S4.02 and S4.04 Joint Meeting on National Forest Inventory, June 18-24, 1978, Bucarest, Romania, p. 134–143.

  • Iles, K.: 1994, 'Some directions in forest inventory', J. Forestry 92(12), 12–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junkov, M.: 1984, Localización y valorización de la masa forestal en Costa Rica (Primera Fase). Localización y caracterización, DGF/PNUD/FAO/COS/79/001, Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia, San José, Costa Rica, 79 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junkov, M., 1984/1985, Localización y valoración de la masa forestal en Costa Rica, Costa Rica, Dirección General Forestal (based on a report DGF-PNUD-FAO-COS/79/001 from March 1984, San José, Costa Rica, 79 p.).

  • Kaimowitz, D.: 1998, 'Forests, Policies and People on the Central American Agricultural Frontier', in M. Palo and J. Uusivouori (eds.), Worlds Forests, Society and Environment, Vol. 1, Kluwer, 430 p., pp. 247–253.

  • Keogh, R. M.: 1984, 'Changes in the forest cover of Costa Rica through history', Turrialba 34(3), 325–331.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleinn, C.: 1991, Zum Waldbegriff in Forstlichen Großrauminventuren (On forest definitions in large area forest inventories. In German with English abstract), AFJZ, 162. Jg., S. 201–210.

  • Kleinn, C.: 1992, 'On the Compatibility of Forest Inventory Results', Proceedings of the IUFRO Conference on Integrating Forest Management over Space and Time, Canberra, Australia, 13-17 January 1992, pp. 278–285.

  • Köhl, M., Traub, B. and Päivinen, R.: 2000, ‘Harmonisation and standardisation in multi-national environmental statistics - mission impossible?' Environ. Monit. Assess. 63(2), 361–380.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lammerts Van Beuren, E. M. and Blom, E. M.: 1997, Principles, Criteria, Indicators: Hierarchical Framework for the Formulation of Sustainable Forest Management Standards, Tropenbos Foundation, The Netherlands, 82 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leonard, H. J.: 1986, Recursos Naturales y Desarrollo Económico en América Central. Un Perfil Ambiental Regional, Seria técnica, informe técnico/CATIE, No. 127, 267 p.

  • Loetsch, F., Zöhrer, F. and Haller, K. E.: 1973, Forest Inventory, Volume II, BLV, München, 468 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lund, G. and Boley, M.: 1995, 'National resource inventorying and monitoring needs: The said and unsaid from UNCED', Schweizrische Zeitschrift für Forstwesen 146(12), 953–964.

    Google Scholar 

  • MAG: 1996, From http://www.mideplan.go.cr/~sideamb/sides/ambiental/01-04.htm.

  • Malleux, J., 1982, Inventarios Forestales en Bosques Tropicales, Costa Rica, 414 p.

  • Mayaux, P., Achard, F. and Malingreau, J. P.: 1998, 'Global tropical forest area measurements derived from coarse resolution satellite imagery: A comparison with other approaches', Environ. Cons. 25(1), 37–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • MINAE: 1996, Información Estadística Relevante sobre el Sector Forestal 1972-1995, San José, Costa Rica, Enero 1996, 48 p.

  • MINAE, FONAFIFO: (no year), Costa Rica: Toward the Sustainability of its Forest Resources, San José, Costa Rica, 23 p.

  • Myers, N.: 1981, 'The hamburger connection: How Central America's forests become North America's hamburgers', AMBIO 10(1), 3–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • OPSA: 1978, Comportamiento del Sector Forestal durante el Período de 1950-1977, (Worked out by S. Pérez and F. Protti). DOC-OPSA-15. Oficina de Planificación Sectorial Agropecuario, Julio 27, 1978, 59 p.

  • Ortiz Valverde, R.: 1996, Bosque Secundario por abandono de Pastizales en la Región Huetar Norte de Costa Rica: Análisis de Algunos Criterios Económicos y Ambientales, Tésis de Maestría, Universidad Nacional, Heredia, Costa Rica, 112 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedroni, L.: 1992, Diagnóstico Forestal de Costa Rica y Propuestas de Trabajo, Informe de Intercooperación (IC), (Unión Mundial para la Naturaleza (UICN), Oficina Regional para Centro América (ORCA) para la Cooperación Suiza para el Desarrollo (COSUDE), 193 p. + Anexos.

  • Pedroni, L.: 1999, Implementación Conjunta y Desarrollo Limpo: Antecedentes a Nivel Mundial, Manejo Forestal Tropical No. 10. Octubre 1999, CATIE, 7 p.

  • Pedroni, L. and Velasquez, S.: 1998, 'Medición y diagnóstico de cobertura boscosa: ¿Qué tan Útiles son las imágenes de satélite en nuestro medio?', In: Memorias del Simposio Conservación del Bosque en Costa Rica, Oct. 30-31 1997. Academia Nacional de Ciencias. San José, Costa Rica, pp. 85–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prodan, M., Peters, R., Cox, F. and Real, P.: 1997, Mensura Forestal, IICA/BMZ/GTZ. Serie Investigación y Educación en Desarrollo Sostenible, San José, Costa Rica, 561 p.

  • Sader, S. A. and Joyce, A. T.: 1988, 'Deforestation rates and trends in Costa Rica, 1940 to 1983', Biotrop. 2(1), 11–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sánchez, G.: 1997, Assessing Land Use/Cover Change in Costa Rica, CIEDES 1-97, Universidad de Costa Rica, 181 p.

  • Schreuder, H. T., Gregoire, T. G. and Wood, G. B.: 1993, Sampling Methods for Multiresource Forest Inventories, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 446 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segura, O., Kaimowitz, D., and Rodriguez, J. (eds): 1997, Políticas Forestales en Centro América: Análisis de las Restricciones para el Desarrollo del Sector Forestal, IICA-Holanda/LADERAS C.A., CCAB-AP, Frontera Agrícola. 348 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiver, B. D., Borders, B. E.: 1996, Sampling Techniques for Forest Resource Inventory, Wiley & Sons. 356 p.

  • Sutherland, W. (ed.).: 1996, Ecological Census Techniques. A Handbook, Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. 336 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stehman, S. V.: 1997, 'Selecting and interpreting measures of thematic classification accuracy', Remote Sens. Environ. 62, 77–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stehman, S. V. and Czaplewski, R. L.: 1998, 'Design and analysis for thematic map accuracy assessment: fundamental principles', Remote Sens. Environ. 64, 331–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sylvander, R. B.: 1981, Bosques del país y su distribución por provincias, Universidad Estatal a Distancia, San José, Costa Rica. 120p. (= Documento de trabajo No. 15/1978 DGF/PNUD/FAO/72/013).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tattenbach, F. and Pedroni, L.: 1999, Implementación conjunta y desarrollo limpo: La experiencia de Centroamérica, Manejo Forestal Tropical No.11. Octubre 1999. CATIE. 7 p.

  • Thrupp, L.: 1980, Deforestation, Agricultural Development, and Cattle Expansion in Costa Rica, Honors Thesis. Human Biology Program. Latin American Studies. Stanford, USA. 160 p.

  • Tosi, J. A. 1974: Los recursos forestales de Costa Rica, Centro Científico Tropical. San José, Costa Rica. 17 p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tuomasjukka: 1997, Síntesis del Estado del Sector Forestal en Centroamérica, CCAD, CCAB-AP, IUCN-ORMA. November 1997.

  • UNDP/FAO: 1973, Estudio y Desarrollo de zonas forestales selectas, Costa Rica. Informe de Terminación. FAO/SF:73/COS 3. 175 p.

  • Utting, P.: 1991, The social origins and impact of deforestation in Central America, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development UNRISD. Geneva, Switzerland. Discussion Paper No. 24. 43p.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wendland, A. and Bawa, K. S.: 1996, 'Tropical forestry: the Costa Rica experience in management of forest resources', J. Sustain. Forestry 3(2/3): 91–156.

    Google Scholar 

Sources that were referred to in the references above but were not consulted as original source.

  • Flores Rodas, J. G.: 1984, Diagnóstico del sector industrial forestal y alternativas de solución, Dirección General Forestal, Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, San José, Costa Rica. (cited in Sader 1988; identical with Flores Rodas 1985).

    Google Scholar 

  • Garrita, D.: 1987, Forest cover map of Costa Rica.

  • Gonzales: 1993, La cobertura forestal en Costa Rica, MIRENEM. San José, Costa Rica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales: 1995, Breve Reseña Histórica de la Dirección General Forestal, MIRENEM. San José, Costa Rica.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Statistics Subunit, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), Turrialba, Costa Rica

    Christoph Kleinn & David Morales

  2. San José, Costa Rica

    Lenin Corrales (Freelance Consultant)

Authors
  1. Christoph Kleinn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lenin Corrales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Morales
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christoph Kleinn.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kleinn, C., Corrales, L. & Morales, D. Forest Area in Costa Rica: A Comparative Study of Tropical Forest Cover Estimates over Time. Environ Monit Assess 73, 17–40 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012659129083

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1012659129083

Search

Navigation