Net CO2 exchange (Rn), stomatal conductance (gj, intemal CO2 concentration (Q), and water-use efficiency (WUE) of aging leaves were measured at the beginning of the dry season in 18 species in a tropical deciduous forest in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. In selected trees, gas exchange of old leaves was also compared with that of young leaves, and stomatal responses to irradiation and dark were measured. Based on comparisons with published data, and gj declined more rapidly with leaf age in deciduous than in evergreen species. Whereas both senescence and drought were implicated as causes of these dechneš in the deciduous species, the relative importance of factors responsible for the smaller decreases in physiological activity of old leaves of the evergreen species was less obvious. In the latter trees, and WUE of aging leaves, although not always as high as in young leaves, were high enough to refiite the suggestion that old leaves are solely a liability to tropical deciduous forest trees. On the other hand, stomatal closure in the dark was incomplete, potentially allowing water loss at night and during droughts.