Site Selection

Due to the great diversity of habitats and the high biodiversity of Costa Rica, it was agreed to select a relatively small number of sites for the inventory. These sites should encompass as many of the country’s ecological zones as possible so that the survey can capture a representative sample of the country’s fungal biodiversity. These sites should also be placed in areas that can take full advantage of available infrastructure and human resources such as parataxonomists. The five Conservation Areas chosen to be surveyed as part of the National Inventory meet these requirements well, and the workshop participants recommended that the Fungal Inventory be conducted in these five conservation areas.

1-La Amistad-Caribe 2-La Amistad-Pacífico

3-Arenal-Tilarán 4-Osa 5-Tempisque

During 1999, parataxonomists collected specimens in different sites within each Conservation Area. Thus, parataxonomists had the opportunity of getting experience in their work while collecting the commonest specimens. This also allowed parataxonomists and curators to have an overview of the different ecosystems and their potential richness for the following year.

For the year 2000, two or three smaller sites within each of the five Conservation Area covered in this study will be selected for the intensive inventory. This is necessary because of the large size and ecological complexity of each of these Conservation Areas. These sites are being chosen to optimize the diversity of habitats sampled within the country. General sampling will primarily occur in these smaller sites. Permanent plots will be established in one of the smaller sites in each Conservation area.