Altitudinal zonation of mosses in west of the Sierra Nevada of Cocuy, Boyacá, Colombia

Abstract

This study was carried out with bryophyte populations in order to study the presence of populations and how they change over altitudinal gradients. Mosses were chosen as a model to do this study because they have a high sensitivity to climatic conditions and wide distribution. The western region of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Boyacá, Colombia has a wide range of climate and ecosystems due to its complex topography. Plots were sampled every 200 m from the peak of Mount Mahoma at 4,200 m a.s.l. south to the Chicamocha River canyon at 1,200 m a.s.l. Diversity and cover are analyzed in each plot from soil, rock and bark substrates. We found 80 species distributed in 29 families, with Pottiaceae and Brachytheciaceae the most diverse families. Ours results show a tendency of the diversity and the coverage to increase with altitude, and we observed five altitudinal belts with three populations defined by mosses species. The Páramo and Superpáramo belts are the richest ones.

Mosses of Malagos Watershed, Baguio District, Davao City; An Exploratory Study

“…Existing literature often connects higher altitudes with lower temperatures and more humid, cloudy climatesecological conditions favorable for a diverse moss species. Consistent with many zoning studies involving bryophytes, the areas with the highest diversity are typically located at the highest elevations (Mejia et al, 2020). The sampling site, Malagos Watershed, has an elevation of 386 m -497 m above sea level (asl) and can be considered a low elevated place, with a minimal gap (111 m) between the minimum and maximum elevation of the sampling site (Salvador, 2023).…”

“…One of the common genera of Sematophyllaceae is Acroporium, while one of the common genera of Hypnaceae is Vesicularia. The moss families Calymperaceae, Hypnaceae, and Sematophyllaceae are abundant in the Philippines because they are well-adapted to the tropical and subtropical climate of the country, which is characterized by high temperature, humidity, and rainfall (Mejia et al, 2020).…”

Estructura de las comunidades de briófitos en los complejos de páramos de Boyacá-Colombia

“…A partir de este trabajo se presenta para la Sierra Nevada del Cocuy 136 especies de briófitos (30 hepáticas, 105 musgos y un antocerote), no obstante, Mejía y Castro (2018) recolectaron 80 taxa de musgos, en sustratos epífitos y rupícolas entre los 1 200 a 4 500 m; con este estudio se aumenta en 40.74 % el registro de flora de briófitos, gracias a la variabilidad de hábitats y sustratos evaluados (Mejía & Castro, 2018). Con relación al complejo de Iguaque-Merchán se amplían los datos en un 38.4 % para el área, con la inclusión de hepáticas y nuevos datos de musgos, en 209 especies (Morales et al, 2007).…”

Niches and guilds of bryophytes along a 3000-meter elevational gradient

“…Nevertheless, the law of large numbers implies the averages of our crude scores should approximate fine distinctions as sample size increases. Our idea was to expand on the type of studies that inspired us by scoring microsites (Kenkel & Bradfield 1986) at many mesosites (Stehn et al 2010) along as long an elevational gradient as we could feasibly visit in a continuous landscape (Mejia et al 2020). If one studies a long enough ecological gradient, be it elevation or latitude or continentality, that gradient is going to be important.…”