The Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF) is a hydrologically unique and highly vulnerable ecosystem to changes in land-use and climate. Assessing the impacts of these changes needs to consider soil-water dynamics. In particular, the organic layer and
The Tropical Montane Cloud Forest (TMCF) is a hydrologically unique and highly vulnerable ecosystem to changes in land-use and climate. Assessing the impacts of these changes needs to consider soil-water dynamics. In particular, the organic layer and its functioning requires attention because its difference in water retention characteristics and root density compared to the underlying mineral soils. A higher root density and a higher water storage capacity of the organic layer compared to the mineral soils suggests that most nutrient and water uptake occurs in this layer. However, hydraulic properties of mineral soils and their impact on hydrology of TMCFs have been poorly studied. Here we provide organic layer water retention curves for TMCF soils that were measured in the laboratory. With these data we assessed the potential land-use and climate change impacts on TMCF soil moisture dynamics. From the land-use change perspective, we estimated the water storage capacity loss by slash-and-burn deforestation practices. These estimates show that the storage loss ranges from 35 to 59 mm when T