Conduct Research

Soltis Center for Research

The Soltis Center is dedicated to advancing scientific knowledge and fostering international collaboration. We provide comfortable accommodations and logistical support to ensure your research endeavors are successful. Join us in exploring the rich biodiversity and ecological significance of this remarkable region, and contribute to impactful research that addresses global challenges. Below is a list of resources available for and we encourage researchers to use and develop these resources.

Permanent Field Infrastructure

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Canopy Tower

Sensors on a 40+-meter walk-up canopy tower installed in 2012 include 3 eddy covariance systems, temperature and humidity sensors, net radiometers, and leaf wetness sensors at multiple heights to provide flux measurements New King Cricket species discovered on the Soltis Center property. 30 of energy, carbon, and hydrometeorological variables. This tower has also a tree plot at its base with the same inventory as the other tree plots and long-term monitoring of tree water use with sap flow sensors.

Meteorological Tower

A 10-m meteorological tower installed in 2012 measures air temperature and relative humidity at the 2- and 10-m heights, wind speed and direction at 10 m, solar radiation at 10 m, and barometric pressure. These data are publicly accessible on the Soltis Center website.

Permanent Tree Plots

Four permanent tree plots with each tree being tagged, identified to species, and measured for diameter. Two more at the Estacion Pocosol supply an altitudinal comparison. These are remeasured every 2 to 5 years for to evaluate tree growth and losses over time and estimate forest productivity.

Weir Dam

A weir dam constructed in 2012 monitors hourly discharge from the main watershed.

GIS Database

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The Scope

The Soltis Center has been working on a Geographic Information System (GIS) database as a platform to support the regional initiative Monteverde Arenal Bioregion, which seeks to enhance the understanding and protection of this biologically rich region through greater community involvement, collaboration, and an expansion of the spatial and temporal scale of conservation efforts. This project was initially developed with the participation of students from the School of Geographical Sciences of the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, with the logistical support and guidance of the Soltis Center.

The area lies between the coordinates Latitude 10 ° 34'51.6"N - Latitude 10 ° 5'12.39" N and Longitude 84 ° 59'48.439 "W - Longitude 84 ° 27'9.372" W. As a geographic working unit, we used the basin or watershed. For purposes of "Arenal Monteverde Initiative", we defined 38 micro-watersheds or sub-basins, totaling an area of 1588 km2.

Mapping

As a GIS baseline, the project started with the Topographic Maps of Costa Rica (1: 50,000 scale) of the National Geographic Institute (IGN), Climatological Atlas as 2008 of the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) and high-resolution Bing Maps and Google Earth Satellite images from 2008 to 2014.

The micro-watersheds and sub–basins were delimited through the vectorial method, using as a basis the 20-meter contour elevation lines of the IGN topographic maps. In order to facilitate the delineation, a survey of the hydrographic network of the 38 units was conducted initially. With the 38 units delineated, we generated morphometric and precipitation parameters. Gradient profiles of the main watershed stream and the hypsometric curves were also determined. Equally, using the 20-meter contour lines, digital elevation and slope models were generated.

Maps

The land use was manually digitalized using a photo interpretation process based on satellite images from Bing and Google Earth. These coverages were drawn in 1: 4000 scale and have the classification of the major land uses, as follows: forest, grassland, urban area, water bodies, crops and naked grounds. Then, the geographic statistics of land cover for all 38 units were generated.

A total of 230 maps were created and for each of the major watershed in six categories:

• Hydrographic Map
• Map of Strahler Stream Order
• Map of Annual Rainfall
• Map of Land Cover
• Digital Elevation Map
• Map of Slopes (Demek sensus)

Maps are available upon request. Email Dr. Eugenio Gonzalez at egonzalez.soltis.center@tamu.edu to request GIS Database maps

Local Flora & Fauna

View lists of the diversity of species found at the Soltis Center and elsewhere in the Peñas Blancas watershed. The lists kept by the Soltis Center are far from being complete but are based on field observations and reports and do not necessarily respond to systematic collections. We invite students, researchers, and naturalists to review and improve the list of the species presented here.

Local Flora & Fauna

Orchid & Insect Collection

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Insect Collection

The reference collection of the Soltis Center began around 2018 with support of the entomology field classed led by of Dr. Hojun Song (Texas A&M University) and Dr. Steven Marshall (University of Guelf). Also, Ronald Vargas, a parataxonomist / researcher of the Soltis Center, has contributed to the collection and identification of the specimens. The collection is located in a room exclusively dedicated to this, with air conditioning and a humidity extractor since the humid tropical environment would cause serious problems and fungi and some arthropods would quickly destroy the collection of insects.

Currently we have around 3,600 insect specimens collected and preserved in our collections and is ​accessible for students and faculty to view.

Orchid Sanctuary

Our orchid sanctuary is created from orchids collected from the surrounding rainforest. Each orchid is sequentially numbered and tagged and kept in a database. Currently there are over 300 orchid clusters of some 80 species or more.

Collaboration Opportunities

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Research in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, most of the research is carried out by universities or non-governmental organizations, with hardly any participation of private sector or the government. Research done by the private sector is mostly oriented to computer and informatics technology and in some cases to engineering sciences. 

Potential Research Areas

Applied Biotechnology 

Some areas where there are already research projects are bio-controllers for agriculture plagues and diseases, environmental technology for managing both organic and non-organic wastes, and organic and sustainable farming, and bio-prospection. 

Alternative Sources of Energy 

Costa Rica is an oil-dependent country, which has triggered research and development of technology related to alternative energy sources. At the national level, some good examples are the hydro-electric power generators, wind-driven generators, geothermal energy, and solar panels. A current emergent source is the bio-fuels, which is a major focus of local research.  Equally important are the bio-digesters at the farmer level to use the biomass or agricultural waste to produce electricity. 

Long-Term Integrated Monitoring 

Global changes are impacting the biodiversity of Costa Rica; however, the impact of those changes on tropical biodiversity and natural ecosystems are uncertain and poorly understood. The trends in tropical biology research call for long term and integrated projects, where biotic and abiotic components are integrated. 

Technology and Communications

The use and application of computer software for on-line service, database management, communication networks, applications for industrial process, among others, are areas of research interest.

Major Institutions in Costa Rica

Institution	Action Area	Category
University of Costa Rica	Research and Education	Public University
National University of Costa Rica	Research and Education	Public University
Technological Institute of Costa Rica	Research and Education	Public University
State Distance University of Costa Rica	Research and Education	Public University
MICYT, Ministry of Science and Technology	Promotes and facilitates Research	Government Agency
CRUSA, Costa Rica-United States Foundation	Promotes, facilitates and finances research and education	NGO-Foundation
CONICIT, National Council for Scientific and Technological Research	Promotes, facilitates and finances research and education	Government Agency
EARTH University	Teaching and research institution	Private International University
CENAT, National Center for High Technology	Promotes and facilitates research	Costa Rica University Consortium
CATIE, Tropical Agriculture Research and Higher Education Center	Teaching and research institution	International University
Ad Astra Rocket Company Costa Rica	Development of advanced plasma rocket propulsion technology	Private Research Company

Work with Local Farmers

Researchers at the Soltis Center can leverage the strong relationships we've built with local farmers to conduct impactful research in agriculture and food production. These collaborations provide unique opportunities to study sustainable farming practices, crop diversity, and innovative agricultural techniques. Local farmers are enthusiastic about participating in research projects, eager to share their knowledge and benefit from new insights that can enhance their farming practices

View our Partnerships