Study area
The small tropical country of Costa Rica is located in southern Central America (latitudes 8 02‘26‘ and 11 13‘12‘N, and longitudes 82 33‘48“and 85 57‘57“W) and has an area of 51,100 km2 (with around 5% of the biodiversity in the planet). After having one of the world’s highest deforestation rates during the 1970s, laws were changed and today, forested areas represent 52% of the country (MINAET and FONAFIFO, 2012), and 25% are protected (González & Lobo, 1999). The land’s volcanic origin and its steep elevation gradients influence the country´s heterogeneity, which has 12 life zones distributed from intertidal zones to over 3000 meters above sea level (Holdridge & Grenke, 1971). Precipitation varies seasonally, being the highest from May to early November, and spatially, with wettest regions receiving over 7000 mm of rainfall per year, and the driest receiving around 900 mm (Avalos, 2019).