Fluxes of nutrient elements entering the forest canopy by rainfall are compared with fluxes to the forest floor by throughfall, for two tropical rain forest types growing on soils of low nutrient content in southern Venezuela. In contrast with other forests, total yearly rainfall fluxes of calcium, sulfur, and phosphorus were greater than corresponding throughfall fluxes. For other elements, rainfall fluxes were occasionally greater than throughfall fluxes. We hypothesize that these nutrients are intercepted in the canopy by algae and lichens growing on leaf surfaces, resulting in nutrient conservation in this nutrient-limited ecosystem.