The magnitude and extent of edge effects on vascular epiphytes across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Parra‐Sanchez, Edicson; Banks-Leite, Cristina

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-75970-1

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…The composition was affected by the distance from the forest edge. The fact that there were fewer species deep in the forest compared to the forest edge was similar to that reported in a semi-deciduous seasonal forest in the southeast of Brazil [ 105 ] and epiphytes in southern Brazil [ 106 , 107 ]. The reason for the effect of distance from the forest edges is because as one moves deeper into a forest, the forest gets thicker and less light penetrates below the canopy than at the edges of forest where the forest is not so dense, and more epiphytes growing at the edges of forests are diverse than in the deep thick forest [ 14 , 32 , 105 , 108 , 109 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Epiphytic Orchid Diversity along an Altitudinal Gradient in Central Nepal

Timsina

Kindlmann

Subedi

et al. 2021

Plants

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Epiphytic orchids are common in subtropical forests, but little is known about the factors that determine their diversity. We surveyed two sites (north-facing Phulchowki and south-facing Shivapuri hills), in the sub-tropical forest in the Kathmandu valley, central Nepal. Along five transects per site, spanning an altitudinal gradient of 1525–2606 m a.s.l., we recorded all epiphytic orchids and the host species on which they were growing. The data were analyzed using a generalized linear model (GLM) and redundancy analysis (RDA). Species richness significantly decreased with increasing altitude and was higher in larger hosts and in places with high temperature. Species composition was affected by altitude, distance from the forest edge, host type, and precipitation. This study indicates that the most important factors affecting epiphytic orchid diversity was altitude, even if other factors were associated with patterns in composition. The low-altitude habitats with high species diversity are the best places for epiphytic orchids in this region. The altitudinal species richness and patterns in composition revealed by this study provide a baseline for further studies on epiphytic orchids.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Epiphytic Orchid Diversity along an Altitudinal Gradient in Central Nepal

Timsina

Kindlmann

Subedi

et al. 2021

Plants

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“…While community composition did not differ between these three habitats for the most common taxa, when including rare taxa there was a significant difference between the jungle buffer and roadside habitats (Figure 4B). Seeing a community difference between these habitats when including rare and not just common taxa suggests that the rare endophytes may be more sensitive to edge effects, which would be consistent with the concept of biotic homogenisation as a result of ecosystem disruption (Mckinney and Lockwood, 1999;Parra-Sanchez and Banks-Leite, 2020). This is also supported by the fact that the Shannon index, which is sensitive to rare species, found a significant difference in diversity, while the Simpson index, which is sensitive to abundant species, did not (Morris et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Seed Banks as Incidental Fungi Banks: Fungal Endophyte Diversity in Stored Seeds of Banana Wild Relatives

et al. 2021

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Seed banks were first established to conserve crop genetic diversity, but seed banking has more recently been extended to wild plants, particularly crop wild relatives (CWRs) (e.g., by the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB), Royal Botanic Gardens Kew). CWRs have been recognised as potential reservoirs of beneficial traits for our domesticated crops, and with mounting evidence of the importance of the microbiome to organismal health, it follows that the microbial communities of wild relatives could also be a valuable resource for crop resilience to environmental and pathogenic threats. Endophytic fungi reside asymptomatically inside all plant tissues and have been found to confer advantages to their plant host. Preserving the natural microbial diversity of plants could therefore represent an important secondary conservation role of seed banks. At the same time, species that are reported as endophytes may also be latent pathogens. We explored the potential of the MSB as an incidental fungal endophyte bank by assessing diversity of fungi inside stored seeds. Using banana CWRs in the genus Musa as a case-study, we sequenced an extended ITS-LSU fragment in order to delimit operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and used a similarity and phylogenetics approach for classification. Fungi were successfully detected inside just under one third of the seeds, with a few genera accounting for most of the OTUs–primarily Lasiodiplodia, Fusarium, and Aspergillus–while a large variety of rare OTUs from across the Ascomycota were isolated only once. Fusarium species were notably abundant–of significance in light of Fusarium wilt, a disease threatening global banana crops–and so were targeted for additional sequencing with the marker EF1α in order to delimit species and place them in a phylogeny of the genus. Endophyte community composition, diversity and abundance was significantly different across habitats, and we explored the relationship between community differences and seed germination/viability. Our results show that there is a previously neglected invisible fungal dimension to seed banking that could well have implications for the seed collection and storage procedures, and that collections such as the MSB are indeed a novel source of potentially useful fungal strains.

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“…Urban sites present challenges for epiphytic species as these often have specialized microclimate requirements. Canopy removal, the simplified vegetation structures of planted vegetation and physical proximity to urban heat islands caused by increased proportions of impermeable surfaces all contribute to the creation of "edge" habitats with higher light levels, fluctuating temperatures, and lower humidity and soil moisture levels [28][29][30]. The presence of original native forest remnants may be critical as a source of lichen propagules for some species [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The process usually begins with the removal of invasive species and the planting of native pioneer tree species with the end goal of developing a mature forest that is able to support a diverse range of species including epiphytes [38]. As noted earlier, the colonization, survival and succession of epiphytes in urban forests are controlled by vegetation patterns [27], environmental factors [28][29][30] and substrate suitability [31]. The rate of colonization is usually low [39], and urban forests may not have the same epiphyte assemblage as natural forest [40].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Distribution of Lichens in Metrosideros excelsa in Northern New Zealand Urban Forests

Benitez¹,

Aguilar

Blanchon

2021

Diversity

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The spatial distribution of corticolous lichens on the iconic New Zealand pōhutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa) tree was investigated from a survey of urban parks and forests across the city of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. Lichens were identified from ten randomly selected trees at 20 sampling sites, with 10 sites classified as coastal and another 10 as inland sites. Lichen data were correlated with distance from sea, distance from major roads, distance from native forests, mean tree DBH (diameter at breast height) and the seven-year average of measured NO2 over the area. A total of 33 lichen species were found with coastal sites harboring significantly higher average lichen species per tree as well as higher site species richness. We found mild hotspots in two sites for average lichen species per tree and another two separate sites for species richness, with all hotspots at the coast. A positive correlation between lichen species richness and DBH was found. Sites in coastal locations were more similar to each other in terms of lichen community composition than they were to adjacent inland sites and some species were only found at coastal sites. The average number of lichen species per tree was negatively correlated with distance from the coast, suggesting that the characteristic lichen flora found on pōhutukawa may be reliant on coastal microclimates. There were no correlations with distance from major roads, and a slight positive correlation between NO2 levels and average lichen species per tree.

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The magnitude and extent of edge effects on vascular epiphytes across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Cited by 21 publications

References 69 publications

Epiphytic Orchid Diversity along an Altitudinal Gradient in Central Nepal

Epiphytic Orchid Diversity along an Altitudinal Gradient in Central Nepal

Seed Banks as Incidental Fungi Banks: Fungal Endophyte Diversity in Stored Seeds of Banana Wild Relatives

Spatial Distribution of Lichens in Metrosideros excelsa in Northern New Zealand Urban Forests

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