Floristic composition and community structure of epiphytic angiosperms in a terra firme forest in central Amazonia

Abstract

10 cm) were sampled. We recorded 3.528 individuals in 13 families, 48 genera and 164 species. Araceae was the most prevalent family with regard to the importance value and stood out in all related parameters, followed by Bromeliaceae, Cyclanthaceae and Orchidaceae. The species with the highest epiphytic importance values were Guzmania lingulata (L.) Mez. and Philodendron linnaei Kunth. The predominant life form was hemiepiphytic. Estimated floristic diversity was 3.2 (H'). The studied epiphytic community was distributed among 727 host plants belonging to 40 families, 123 genera and 324 species. One individual of Guarea convergens T.D. Penn. was the host with the highest richness and abundance of epiphytes. Stems/trunks of host plants were the most colonized segments, and the most favorable habitat for epiphytism was the lowlands, where 84.1% of species and 48.2% of epiphytic specimens were observed.]]>

Species Richness and Abundance of Low-Trunk Herb Epiphytes in Relation to Host Tree Size and Bark Type, Eastern Amazonia

“…The predominance of hemi-epiphytic species was also reported for other studies in Amazonia (TER STEEGE;CORNELISSEN, 1989;NIEDER et al, 2000; BUSSMAN, BETANCUR, 2006;IRUME et al, 2013). Moreover, most low-trunk epiphytic species and individuals found at CNF were concentrated on the lowest three meters of the trunks, what was evidenced with high number of secondary hemi-epiphytes.…”

“…As was observed by Ter Steege and Cornelissen (1989) in Guyana, Nieder et al (2000) in Venezuela and Irume et al (2013) in central Amazonia, the most representative group in the assembly of epiphytes on the trunks at CNF were Araceae. The concentration of species in a few families reflects their specialization for the existing understory microhabitats (GENTRY; DODSON, 1987a;NIEDER et al, 2001).…”

“…The epiphytic herb assembly at CNF showed a relatively low number of species (30-37) compared to studies carried out in Amazonia (NIEDER et al, 2000;BUSSMANN, 2001;LEIMBECK;BALSLEV, 2001;KREFT et al, 2004;KÜPER et al, 2004;BENAVIDES et al, 2005;ARÉVALO;BETANCUR, 2006;POS;SLEEGERS, 2010;IRUME et al, 2013) and the Guyanas (TER STEEGE; CORNELISSEN, 1989;FREIBERG, 1996). However, one should take into account the fact that only the understory was inventoried, and only herb species were considered.…”

“…The ecological knowledge about vascular epiphytes in Brazilian Amazon in currently still incipient, with a modest number of studies carried out in the biome (POS; SLEEGERS, 2010;MEDEIROS;JARDIM, 2011;IRUME et al, 2013;KOCH et al, 2013;JARDIM, 2012JARDIM, , 2013JARDIM, , 2014OBERMULLER et al, 2014). Epiphytic plants are important components of the tropical forest ecosystem and understanding their relationship with environment, including tree hosts, may help to predict their occurrence and to plan their conservation.…”

Composition, diversity and structure of vascular epiphytes in two contrasting Central Amazonian floodplain ecosystems

“…In the Brazilian Amazon research on vascular epiphytes is mostly concentrated in upland forests (Irume et al 2013;Boelter et al 2014). However, even in these environments, vascular epiphytes are neglected in conservation action plans, which mostly focus on arboreal species (Obermüller et al 2012).…”