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Abstract Detail


Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS

Benavides, Juan C. [1], Gutierrez, Carlos [2].

Effect of deforestation in palm-epiphytic bryophyte communities in a cloud forest in the northern Andes.

Cloud forest is one of the most diverse and yet one of the most endangered ecosystems in the tropics. Epiphytic bryophytes are extremely diverse and abundant in this ecosystem were the palms are a dominant element. Forest clearing creates new environments on the isolated trees that have been considered a refugee for “rare” canopy species, and the relationship of these “isolated” communities with forest communities is considered to be distant. We propose that the new communities generated by the clearing are a combination of a subset of drought tolerant species from the forest and arrivals from disturbance tracking species. We analyzed the changes in bryophyte diversity patterns between forests and a man-made grasslands and how this patterns were related to the distribution of locally rare species. We sampled 99 plots in 11 individuals of the palm Dictyocaryum lamarckianum for a total effective sampling area of 15.9 m2. Our results showed a decrease in the number of species from the bottom to the top of the palm and from the forest to the grassland. Rare species were mostly concentrated in the forest independently from the height. Changes in species vertical distribution showed a shift of 4 m downward in average of the species in grasslands relative to forests. Ordination of the plots using NMDS provided evidence that change in species composition is gradual between forests and grasslands and from the base of the palms to the canopy. In conclusion bryophyte communities from isolated palms are not islands were canopy species can be preserved but sinks were only common species are able to survive.

Broader Impacts:


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1 - Southern Illinois University, Plant Biology, 1125 Lincoln Av LSII Bld Room 420, Carbondale, IL, 62901-6905, USA
2 - Universidad de Antioquia, Biology Institute, Postal code 1126, Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia

Keywords:
bryophytes
Cloud Forest
Andes
epiphytes
deforestation
rarity
Diversity.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Hall A/Convention Center
Date: Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PBL008
Abstract ID:711


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