Floristic composition and spatial distribution of vascular epiphytes in the restingas of Maracanã, Brazil

Abstract

Vascular epiphytes constitute a life form that is important to maintaining the biological diversity of forest ecosystems, because they provide food resources and specialized microenvironments for fauna in the forest canopy. This study aimed to describe the floristic composition and ecological aspects of vascular epiphytes occurring in the restingas (coastal woodlands) within the Algodoal-Maiandeua Environmentally Protected Area, located in the municipality of Maracanã, in the state of Pará, Brazil. We sampled five 50 × 50 m plots (three in dry restinga forest and two in floodplain restinga forest), the sampled area therefore totaling 1.25 ha. In the plots sampled, vascular epiphytes were identified and described according to their frequency, abundance, importance value (IV), functional group and vertical distribution (trunk, lower crown or upper crown of the host). For both forest types, we identified 477 individuals belonging to five families, nine genera and 11 species. The most species-rich families were Araceae and Orchidaceae. The species with the highest density, frequency and IV were the secondary hemiepiphytes Philodendron acutatum, Anthurium pentaphyllum and Philodendron muricatum, collectively accounting for 92.1% of all sampled individuals. The true epiphytes predominated. Epiphytic species richness and abundance was greater on the host trunk than in the lower or upper crown. The seasonal climate and structure of the forest favored greater abundance of secondary hemiepiphytes and a higher frequency of epiphytes on the trunks of their hosts.

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

“…Laube & Zotz 2003;Wang et al 2016). This tendency has been widely observed in Amazonian forests (Nieder et al 2000;Pos & Sleegers 2010;Obermüller et al 2012;Quaresma & Jardim 2014;Boelter et al 2015), except for the study of Irume et al (2013) in upland forests (terra firme forests), where Araceae was the most speciose family recorded. The development of velamen, pseudobulbs for water storage and the CAM metabolic pathway (Benzing 1990;Zotz 2004) are some of the adaptations given as the reasons for the success of orchids in colonizing tropical trees, which make them the epiphyte family with the highest number of species (Zotz 2013).…”

“…However, even in these environments, vascular epiphytes are neglected in conservation action plans, which mostly focus on arboreal species (Obermüller et al 2012). Epiphytes are also poorly sampled in other Amazonian environments, including savannas (Gottsberger & Morawetz 1993), coastal forests (Quaresma & Jardim 2014) and white-sand forests (Steege & Cornelissen 1989;Mari et al 2016) Composition, diversity and structure of vascular epiphytes in two contrasting Central Amazonian floodplain ecosystems While vascular epiphytes are visually highly abundant in Amazonian floodplain forests, to the best of our knowledge there are only two studies that investigated species composition and richness. Nieder et al (2000), in 1.5 ha of a igapó forest along of the Suromoni River, Venezuelan Amazon, reported 778 individuals belonging to 53 epiphyte species, where orchids (19 species) and aroids (15 species) were the most abundant families.…”

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

“…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.…”

Formações Florestais De Restinga E Relações Ecológicas Com Lianas

“…Nas florestas brasileiras, a maioria dos trabalhos que investigaram a florística de lianas no Sul (DURIGON et al, 2009) Fabaceae e Dilleniaceae, apesar de não serem marcantes na guilda de lianas, apresentaram maior número de espécies com hábito lianescente na Amazônia (AMARAL et al, 2008;JARDIM et al, 2013;JARDIM, 2014). Fabaceae, por sua vez, é uma das famílias mais diversificadas em todas as regiões fitogeográficas do Brasil e também em todas as regiões tropicais, com estação seca marcante QUARESMA, A.C e JARDIM, M.A.…”

“…Seu crescimento em altura é condicionado por outras plantas que servem como suporte JARDIM, 2014). Para Brandes e Barros (2008), durante o crescimento perdem sua habilidade de se sustentar, necessitando de suporte para ascender à copa.…”