Monteverde cloud forest faces moisture loss despite high rainfall

The Monteverde cloud forest in Costa Rica is experiencing a critical loss of moisture despite receiving over 100 inches of annual rainfall. Researchers have identified a decline in epiphytes—plants such as mosses, ferns, and orchids that live on trees—as a primary driver of this ecological shift.

While yearly rainfall levels remain relatively stable, rising temperatures are lifting the cloud base higher up the mountains. This change results in longer dry seasons and fewer mist-filled days. Because epiphytes capture moisture from fog and mist to regulate the forest's water cycle, their decline causes trees to become hotter and drier, with water moving through the ecosystem too quickly to be retained in the soil and canopy.

Ecophysiologist Sybil Gotsch described these plants as “the canary in the coal mine” for atmospheric strain. The degradation of the epiphyte system poses significant risks to local biodiversity, wildlife habitats, and the watersheds that support downstream communities, farming, and tourism.