Impact of dry season orographic clouds on pastures on the upper lee slope of the Cordillera de Tilaran, Costa Ric

This study investigates the effect of orographic cloud cover established by trade wind flow over Costa Rica's Cordillera de Tilaran on the NDVI of pastures on the upper lee slopes near the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve using IKONOS, Landsat and GOES satellite imageries.;Correlation and multiple linear regression analyses show that pasture NDVI and monthly cloud cover frequency for the dry season months of January through April 2001 and 2002 decreased with distance from the continental divide. Pasture NDVI also had statistically significant relationship with GOES monthly cloud cover frequency. Since dry season mist from orographic clouds is the only source of dry season inputs on the lees slope, these results therefore have important implications for biodiversity conservation on the upper Pacific slopes of the Cordillera de Tilaran, and in the Monteverde cloud forests.