Modern pollen rain in Costa Rica

The modern pollen rain of 29 sites in Costa Rica was characterized by analyzing pollen spectra in surface lake and pond sediments and soils. The sites were located within nine principal vegetation types: mangrove, tropical dry forest, derived savanna, tropical moist forest, tropical wet forest, premontane rain forest, montane rain forest, montane bog, and páramo. Pollen data were analyzed using cluster analysis and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). Sites with similar vegetation showed similar pollen percentages and were clustered together in the cluster analysis and DCA. Results demonstrate that different vegetation types in Costa Rica can be distinguished by their modern pollen rain.