Checklist of ferns and lycophytes from the highlands of Pico Paraná State Park, Paraná, Brazil

Abstract

We present a checklist for the ferns and lycophytes from Pico Paraná State Park, in Southern Brazil. The Park is entirely located at the Serra do Mar mountains, and represents an important remnant of the Atlantic Rain Forest with altitude achieving 1,887 m. In this locality is the Pico Paraná, the highest mountain in Southern Brazil. This study was focused on the altitudes above 1,000 m, which are mainly represented by dwarf forests and altitudinal fields. A total of 142 species were recorded, three of them (Ceradenia maackii, Diplazium tamandarei, and Stenogrammitis wittigiana) are only found in the park in Southern Brazil. Besides of the checklist of the species, we highlight some important aspects related to endangered species, geographic distribution, and life forms. The high level of endemism, the presence of endangered species, and the phylogenetic diversity as represented by distinct families of ferns and lycophytes show the biogeographic importance of this area for the conservation of these groups of plants.

The ferns and lycophytes of Reserva Natural Guaricica, Antonina, Paraná, Brazil

“…in a 1-ha plot at 630 m, Dittrich et al 2005), Parque Nacional Saint-Hilaire/Lange (74 epiphytic spp., Blum et al 2011), and Pico Paraná State Park (142 spp. above 1000 m in elevation, Pereira and Labiak 2018). Among these areas, the pteridophyte flora of RPPN Guaricica is most similar to that of Ilha do Mel (Salino et al 2005), a continental island with ca 2900 ha and elevations from sea level to 148 m (Britez and Marques 2005).…”

“…With 204 species, RPPN Guaricica has more ferns and lycophytes than any other area in that state. Its richness is followed by the Guartelá State Park (163 spp., Michelon and Labiak 2013), Vila Velha State Park (152 spp., Schwartsburd and Labiak 2007), Pico Paraná State Park (142 spp., Pereira and Labiak 2018), Ilha do Mel (114 spp., Salino et al 2005), and Iguaçu National Park (101 spp., Lautert et al 2015). Some mountainous areas at Serra do Mar, however, will probably show a higher number of species when studied more thoroughly.…”

“…Michelon and Labiak 2013;Michelon et al 2018). For the Atlantic rainforest we have only the studies by Dittrich et al (2005) for the Marumbi State Park (1 hectare plot), Salino et al (2005) for Ilha do Mel, Blum et al (2011) for Serra da Prata (epiphytes only), and Pereira and Labiak (2018) for Pico Paraná State Park. Surprisingly as it may seem, there are no studies focused on the pteridophytes from the coastal lowlands of Paraná, between the mountains of Serra do Mar and the Atlantic Ocean.…”

Ferns and lycophytes from Lagoa do Peri Municipal Park, Santa Catarina, Brazil

“…Several studies on ferns and lycophytes have been carried out in Brazil, including many floristic surveys in the southern region of the country (Dittrich et al 2005(Dittrich et al , 2017(Dittrich et al , 2018Athayde-Filho and Windisch 2006;Schwartsburd and Labiak 2007;Steffens and Windisch 2007;Paciencia 2008;Santos and Windisch 2008;Lehn et al 2009;Blume et al 2010;Gonzatti et al 2014;Lautert et al 2015;Mallmann et al 2018;Michelon et al 2018;Pereira and Labiak 2018;Matos et al 2020). More specifically, the flora of ferns and lycophytes in the state of Santa Catarina has been vastly documented through the works of Sehnem for the Flora Ilustrada Catarinense (Sehnem 1967(Sehnem , 1968a(Sehnem , 1968b(Sehnem , 1970(Sehnem , 1971(Sehnem , 1972(Sehnem , 1978(Sehnem , 1979a(Sehnem , 1979b, and later of Labiak and Prado (1998), Gasper and Sevegnani (2010), Gasper et al (2012), and Gasper and Salino (2015).…”