Montane forests are also likely to be strongly impacted by global climate change; recent research in Central American forests indicates that climate warming is raising the elevation at which clouds form. These changes are likely responsible for observed species migrations and are likely to have important long-term effects on tree communities

We are in the process of establishing a network of 1-ha forest dynamics plots in the Fortuna and Palo Seco montane forest reserves in western Panama. Our sites span gradients of elevation (800-1500 m), and rainfall (3m - 6+m/yr) as well as soil nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Plot data are being used to design experiments to examine mechanisms determining range distributions of trees and to compare the importance of constraints on recruitment success between high elevation sites and lowland sites in central Panama.

To date we have fully censused six 1 ha plots and are working on completing identifications of the 400+ tree species present within them. We are collaborating on this project with faculty and students from the Universidad Autonoma de Chiriqui (UNACHI). We teach a field course in montane forest ecology for UNACHI undergraduate students every Spring with funding support from the Government of Panama.