A study of elfin forests in Colombia and Venezuela showed that the additional precipitation obtained by cloud moisture interception represented 2.8-30 in (72-769 mm) a year, and that it decreased along a gradient from west to east.
In an elfin forest in Puerto Rico transpiration rates were 9 x 10-4 g of water / sq cm / hr; in a nearby site, the rates of transpiration measured were only between 0.9 and 11.4 x 10-4 g of water / sq cm / hr, which is very little in comparison with the rates of transpiration of lower sites in the same forest, between 7 and 29 x 10-2 g of water / sq cm / hr.
In a study carried out in a cloud forest in Venezuela, most of the leaves were mesophylls and macrophylls; however, in an elfin forest in Puerto Rico, that included lianas, herbaceous plants, epiphytes, shrubs, and trees, 58% of the leaves were microphylls, 25% mesophylls, only 2% leptophylls, and 12% nanophylls.
Regeneration and secondary succession in an elfin forest in Puerto Rico was studied after clearcutting of three small 49 ft x 49 ft ...
It also has been used in Hawaiian classrooms to tell the story of these elfin forests and their importance to Kaua`i.
Kaua`i's elfin forests indeed have a magical spirit about them, for one cannot visit without feeling awe for their ability to adapt and thrive in such harsh conditions.