Climate Change

To reiterate what conditions constitute a cloud forest, it is an area where mountains are frequently enveloped by tradewind-derived ornographic clouds and mist in combination with convective rainfall. With this frequent cloud cover, there is deposition of cloud droplets through contact with soil and vegetation surfaces. This is known as horizontal rainfall. At the Monteverde Institute, we were told that even during the dry season in the past, it was noticeably more moist than it is today. For an area that is so reliant on the constant moisture in the area, even a slight alteration in the temperature is going to cause dramatic results. Cloud forests also tend to host a large number of endemic species, as their unique climates and specialized ecosystems create habitats that are not found anywhere else on Earth. Climate change is inevitable going to affect this fragile ecosystem as temperatures increase globally. According to the MonteverdeInfo website, models suggest that the low-level cloud coverage will be reduced, and as a result, temperatures will go up. This could cause the forests' hydrological cycle to change and potentially even dry up. 
With an increase in the warmth of the area, this implies an increase in evapotranspiriation (the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from Earth's land and ocean surface to the atmosphere). This, coupled with reduced cloud contact, could have serious conservation implications. Those species which are endemic will have nowhere to travel except farther and farther up into the tops of the mountains, where they will eventually reach a point of no return. A grim tale, but an uncomfortably accurate one if environmentally responsible ways aren't adopted on a global scale.