Acknowledgments. We thank I. Volmer, M. Nufiez, R. Vargas, D. Villegas and B. Paniagua for field and laboratory work. We are grateful to G. Bellavita and personnel of DEBA S.A. for giving permission for and help during the field work. We also thank Mary Jeane Sanchez, Maria del Carmen Marrero, and Maria Rivera for the nutrient analyses. We thank Antje Weitz and Steve Frolking for comments on earlier dratts o r this paper and Pamela Matson and one anonymous reviewer for thorough and useful reviews. This work was supported by the EPA, interagency agreement to the USDA Forest Service DW12935643 01 and NASA, interagency agreement to the USDA Forest Service 2849- EDBECO-0014.