Tropical Rain Forest Conversion to Pasture: Changes in Vegetation and Soil Properties

Abstract

The effects of converting lowland tropical rainforest to pasture, and of subsequent succession of pasture lands to secondary forest, were examined in the Atlantic Zone of Costa Rica. Three replicate sites of each of four land—use types representing this disturbance—recovery sequence were sampled for changes in vegetation, pedological properties, and potential nitrogen mineralization and nitrification. The four land—use types included primary forest, actively grazed pasture (10—36 yr old), abandoned pasture (abandoned 4—10 yr) and secondary forest (abandoned 10—20 yr). Conversion and succession had obvious and significant effects on canopy cover, canopy height, species composition, and species richness; it appeared that succession of secondary forests was proceeding toward a floristic composition like that of the primary forests. Significant changes in soil properties associated with conversion of forest to pasture included: (1) a decrease in acidity and increase in some base exchange properties, (2) an increase in bulk density and a concomitant decrease in porosity, (3) higher concentrations of NH 4+, (4) lower concentrations of NO 3—, (5) lower rates of N—mineralization, and (6) in some cases, lower rates of nitrification. Chemical changes involving cations associated with conversion from forest to pasture indicated increases in soil fertility under the pasture regimes, while changes associated with nitrogen indicated decreases in fertility. Physical changes in density and porosity were deleterious with respect to infiltration, percolation, aeration, and, ultimately, erodability. Beyond the practical aspects of land management, many of these changes are very important to carbon and nitrogen cycling and to the emission and consumption of biogenic trace gases.