Species composition, similarity and diversity in three successional stages of a seasonally dry tropical forest

The objectives of this study were to describe the floristic composition, species diversity, similarity and richness among three stages of forest regeneration, and to investigate the influence of the previous land use on species composition in a seasonally dry tropical forest in northwestern Costa Rica. The species diversity and richness of woody stems with diameter greater or equal to 5 cm in 260.1 ha plots was found to be the greatest in the intermediate stage followed by the late and early stages. The structural changes of this chronosequence of successional stages were quantified with a modification of the Holdridge complexity index. Using satellite imagery for site selection and historical ground truth analysis the influence of past land use and the frequency of anthropogenic disturbances on species composition was illustrated. (C) 2004, Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.