forests, trees in TMCF tend to be dense and relatively
short with gnarled trunks, compact crowns, and
small, thick leaves. Epiphytes are common. Soils are
frequently wet and highly organic. Biodiversity and
endemism are often very high.
The tropical montane cloud forest is one of the
world's most threatened ecosystems. In many regions,
their rate of loss exceeds that of lowland tropical rain
forests that have received far more attention. Annual
forest loss in tropical mountains has recently been
estimated as 1.1%, versus 0.8% for all tropical for-
ests (Doumenge et al. 1993). The hydrological role
of TMCF in water capture of wind-driven mist and fog
gives these ecosystems a value in terms of water re-
sources that is distinct from other forests or types of
land use (Stadtmuller 1987). Cloud forests protect
watersheds by reducing runoff and erosion (Daugherty
1973). Major threats to TMCF include deforestation
due to cattle grazing and agriculture, wood harvest-
ing, and exploitation of nonwood forest products.
Other potential impacts are hunting, uncontrolled
recreation, introduction of alien species, and global
climate change and air quality deterioration (Hamil-
ton et al. 1993, Lugo and Lowe 1995). Potential re-
sponses to these threats are discussed in this volume
(see Chaps. 10-12).
In contrast to established field stations in Costa
Rica and elsewhere in the tropics, Monteverde lacks
a formal research center. Compared to two neotropical
lowland biological stations, La Selva, Costa Rica, and
Barro Colorado Island, Panama, Monteverde has of-
fered little in the way of formal laboratory space, li-
brary, or equipment. At various times, Monteverde
biologists have organized informal seminar series,
made resources available to the greater community
(e.g., botanist W. A. Haber's herbarium and broad
knowledge of plants), loaned equipment, given pub-
lic lectures, and offered workshops. This self-suffi-
ciency of individual biologists, then, has at least par-
tially compensated for the lack of a central research
institution.
Biologists in turn have received a great deal of com-
munity support in the form of access to private land,
friendship with local residents, outlets for family life,
schools, and so forth. At the same time, doing bio-
logical research in a community rather than at a field
station has required Monteverde biologists to be sen-
sitive to local values. Certain types of research have
been discouraged. For example, destructive sampling
of animals and vegetation is usually forbidden in the
Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve and frowned upon
on private land.
We have organized this book into twelve chapters.
At the outset of the project, we invited specialists on
a particular taxon or level of community organization
in Monteverde to organize a chapter on that subject.
Chapter editors were asked to place their work in a
conservation context. The book begins with back-
ground material on the physical environment and
geological history of the region. We then cover the
major plant and animal groups, followed by discus-
sions of plant-animal interactions and ecosystem ecol-
ogy. This is followed by treatments of the human com-
munity and its environment, and we conclude with a
chapter on conservation biology and areas for future
research. Following each chapter are essays written
by investigators, which are designed to give a more
in-depth look at specific subjects. Species lists and
other detailed materials are presented as appendices
at the end of the book.
The body of research gathered in this book is a tes-
timony to the good will and energy of biologists, edu-
cators, conservationists, farmers, and other residents
who, despite the lack of research facilities, libraries,
or laboratories at Monteverde, have collectively pro-
duced a large body of knowledge on a wide range of
subjects concerning the extraordinary landscape of
Monteverde and its inhabitants. With additional ef-
forts to ameliorate research coordination and research
facilities and more direct circulation of research re-
sults to the education, ecotourism, and conservation
sectors, the potential for understanding and soundly
managing Monteverde's complex ecosystems and
human interactions will be even greater.Acknowledgments Our greatest thanks and affection
go to all the members of the Monteverde community,
who opened their homes, schools, and hearts to us
and our families, shared information about the his-
tory and biology of Monteverde, and encouraged our
research on their property, particularly the Campbells,
Guindons, Hoges, Rockwells, Stuckeys, and Trestles.
More than 140 biologists, artists, photographers, and
Monteverde residents made this book possible by
writing chapters and short accounts or contributing
photographs and figures; we thank them for their pro-
fessional work. For logistical and other support, we
acknowledge the staff of the Tropical Science Center,
Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Monteverde Con-
servation League, Monteverde Institute, Organization
for Tropical Studies, The Evergreen State College, and
Bowdoin College. The Friends of Monteverde kindly
provided a grant for producing color plates for the
book. For assistance and ideas, we thank Ana Beatriz
Azofeifa (OTS library), Omar Goto, Heladio Cruz, Lindi
Guindon, Tomas Guindon, Sue Johansen, David King
and Linda Mather (for maps), Bob Law, Ree Scheck,
Susan Schick, and Nat Scrimshaw. Students at The
Evergreen State College who helped with the book
include Alex Cobb, Vizma Schulmeisters, Matt Denton,9 Introduction