Project Results

I am very excited to share this manuscript talking about Holocene paleohydroclimate and paleoenvironmental change and the 5.2 ka abrupt climate change event occurred at glacial massif of central Costa Rica that is officially published! The greatest appreciation goes to all the backers for this crowdfunding project. We wouldn't be able to complete this research without your support!!!

PS: The funding collected from experiment.com was finally decided to apply on conducting more radiocarbon dates to refine the chronology of DKB core, and undertaking high-resolution charcoal and geochemistry analysis, instead of stable oxygen isotope analysis on subfossil chironomids as we requested, due to some budget adjustment. But we have successfully received a grant recently from International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) that enables a preliminary test of stable oxygen isotope analysis on subfossil chironomid remains (δ¹⁸O_hc) in the DKB core. 

About This Project

Páramo, high-elevation tundra ecosystem, is considered as an important biodiversity hotspot. Páramo is a fragile system due to its slow recovery rate after disturbance such as wildfire. Nowadays, páramo in central Costa Rica is under threat from more potential fires due to climate warming. Long-term hydroclimate reconstructions for this region will enable us to better understand the past climate change, its impact on high elevation vegetation and fire activities, and to better conserve páramo.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

Páramo is a high-altitude ecosystem only found in Neotropics (Fig. 1), with unique and extremely diverse with up to 60% of its ~4000 species of vascular plants endemic. Chirripó páramo within Chirripó National Park of central Costa Rica is the most northwestern extend of páramo distribution in the Neotropics (Fig. 1); it has been considered as an important biodiversity and evolutionary hotspots in Neotropical biological corridors. However, nowadays, Chirripó páramo ecosystem is under threat from potentially intensified and increasing fires due to global warming and significantly reduced rainfall during dry seasons. Efficient fire management for Chirripó páramo requires us to improve our understanding of linkages between long term hydroclimate change and fire activities in this region.

What is the significance of this project?

Ecosystems in mountainous regions, such as páramo located within alpine tundra areas of central Costa Rica, are particularly vulnerable to climate change due, in part, to the amplification of warming at high elevations that is expected to occur in response to anthropogenic forcing of the climate system. Understanding the magnitude and range of past hydroclimate variability in central highlands of Costa Rica, and its impact on high elevation ecosystems (e.g. vegetation type) and landscape change (e.g. fire history), provides a basis for better predicting fire activities and fire management in Costa Rica, and also for better conserving the biodiversity and endemicity of Chirripó páramo ecosystem.

What are the goals of the project?

The proposed research aims at developing new proxy-based reconstructions of hydroclimate change for Costa Rica spanning the past 8000 years by analyzing the stable oxygen isotope signals extracted from subfossil chironomid head capsule remains preserved in lake sediments in Lago Ditkebi within Chirripó páramo. The records developed in our study will 1) provide the means to quantify hydroclimate variability during Holocene of central Costa Rica, 2) together with existing paleostudies will help relate changes in climate to observed changes in vegetation composition and to fire activities, 3) address questions related to ecosystem response to climate forcing over the long-term, and 4) improve fire prediction and management for neotropical páramo ecosystem.