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The Neotropical Region (NR) is one of the areas with the most plant diversity globally, and its richness of vascular epiphyte (VE) species is higher than Africa and Asia combined. This richness is a consequence of the heterogeneous climate and geological history of the region, both factors also being responsible for the plant distribution patterns. Here, we aimed to explore the phytogeographic relationships of the VE in the NR using 14,636 identified records from 173 surveys exclusively of VE, carried out in 14 countries and 23 biogeographic provinces, comprising 3849 identified species. We assessed the floristic patterns and relationships with climatic variables by multivariate analysis (cluster and ordination analyses). The clustering formed 13 main groups, partly corresponding to the biogeographic units of the NR. Our results demonstrate consistent floristic patterns confirmed through the analysis of floristic similarity, corroborating previous biogeographic classifications in well-studied areas, while broader patterns were found in poorly studied areas. We found a floristic gradient pattern, which allowed us to understand the relationships between environmental conditions and floristic patterns. Furthermore, we discuss our results under the light of the history that likely shaped the current distribution patterns and richness of the VE in the NR. The VE proved to be an important model for testing biogeographic classifications. We encourage the studies of this synusia in the several geographical gaps that remain in the NR, which undoubtedly will improve further studies and support conservationist policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular epiphytes represent a remarkable characteristic of the tropical cloud forests. The Serra da Mantiqueira (SM) represents one of the main highland areas of Brazil harboring vegetation remnants, and highlighting the cloud forests. We present a checklist of the vascular epiphytes found in the cloud forests of the SM, discussing the data about taxonomic representativity, distribution in the phytogeographic domains, habits, threatened status in Brazil and the states comprising the SM (Espírito Santo-ES, Minas Gerais-MG, Rio de Janeiro-RJ, São Paulo-SP). Field expeditions were performed between 2012 and 2019, as well as data gathering from scientific collections and published articles. We found 678 species, representing approximately 20% and 30% of the species found in Brazil and Atlantic forest, respectively. The richest families (Orchidaceae, 288 spp.; Bromeliaceae, 112 spp.; Polypodiaceae 65 spp.) corroborated the patterns found in different scales. Forty-one species are threatened nationally (and regionally, there are 149 in ES, 55 in MG, six in RJ, 31 in SP). These numbers of richness and threatened species highlight the relevance of directing efforts toward knowledge and conservation of both cloud forest remnants and SM as a whole, under pain of losing of a large part of the floristic diversity of Atlantic forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud forests usually occur at high-altitude sites of the Atlantic Forest in eastern Brazil, albeit scattered and fragmented along the mountain tops. In this habitat, the vegetation occurs at low-temperature conditions and is usually provided by additional water sources that arise due to the horizontal precipitation of the frequent fogs. Together with the more considerable air movement and higher luminosity, these factors are conditioning for singular floras at high elevations, mainly the vascular epiphytes, which are macro and microclimate dependent. In the mountains range at the center of the Espírito Santo state, Southeastern Brazil, some mountain tops such as Pedra Azul (PA) hold these environmental features. Here, we aimed to present the first checklist of vascular epiphytes in the Pedra Azul State Park and surroundings based on fieldwork and herbarium specimens. The checklist comprises 152 species, 65 genera, and 17 families, the main families being Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae, and Polypodiaceae, with the main genera represented by Vriesea, Acianthera, and Peperomia. The holoepiphytes were the main category among the epiphytes, although an unusually high number of facultative epiphytes were recorded. Asplenium theciferum and Octomeria cucullata are recorded in Espírito Santo for the first time, and we confirmed the occurrence of Rhipsalis cereuscula in the state. Overall, the richness recorded in PA is amongst the highest of the Atlantic Forest cloud forests. Six species are threatened at the national level and 32 at the state level. These results support the importance of the protected area for conserving the flora; however, several species - including threatened - were only recorded in the surroundings, demonstrating that the buffer zone of the Pedra Azul State Park must be included in the management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Urbanization is a disturbance process that can select species and result in biodiversity homogenization. Despite this, urban green areas shelter nature and are also important to human welfare. Epiphytes are an important functional group present in such areas, that are rarely studied. We evaluated the vascular epiphytic component in 26 urban green areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and tested hypotheses related to the anthropogenic disturbances: 1) the community of epiphytes in urban green areas presents low richness and diversity of species; 2) there is low beta diversity due to flora homogenization represented by a reduced set of more tolerant species to disturbance. A total of 2288 trees (1563 representing phorophytes) and 110 epiphytic species were sampled. Six species were dominant, resulting in low diversity values, but some green areas had relatively high richness. The similarity found between the majority of the sampled areas suggests that epiphytic flora is subject to homogenization due to environmental filters. We found a high richness of species without adaptations to the epiphytic lifeform (accidental epiphytes) (42% of total sampled). Some results suggest that more comprehensive ecological and/or floristic studies about the epiphytes in the urban environment are necessary, such as Orchidaceae as the second richest family (since it is often poor in urban areas). More information about the species distribution patterns are necessary, both regarding the anthropized environments and the relationships with exotic or native phorophytes, as well as to enhance the knowledge of the ecological functions played by the epiphytes in these places. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping diversity patterns is important to clarify its causes and is essential information for conservation policies. We map the distribution of vascular epiphytes from the Southern block of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (SBAF) to understand the main factors responsible for the richness and species turnover, as well as to generate information for the conservation of this functional group. We gathered a data set of vascular epiphytes, mapping the richness and weighted endemism using cells of 0.5° × 0.5°, and performed two Generalized Dissimilarity Models (GDM) using a filter of 18 and 54 species in cells of 5 km × 5 km to evaluate the species turnover and correlation with the climatic and topographic factors. We found four sites presenting both a high richness and endemism. A gradient of richness and species turnover between the coastal and inland regions was confirmed, as well as between the lowlands and the mountainous regions. The main predictors obtained from GDM were geographic distance, cloud cover, and temperature seasonality. The topographic heterogeneity and the resulting climate changes are responsible to enhance the richness and species turnover of vascular epiphytes in the SBAF. It is important to conserve the coastal areas and the mountainous gradients due to the high richness and strong species turnover, but also the inland areas since their composition is quite distinct from previous environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epiphytes enrich the vegetation cover and provide relevant ecosystem services, which are very important in the urban environment for mitigating air pollution and effects such as heat islands. The majority of tree species used in the urban aforestation are exotic, and their capacity to provide a substratum for epiphytes is not thoroughly exploited. We tested an eventual preference of vascular epiphytes for exotic or native phorophytes in an urban area inside the Atlantic forest domain, evaluating the structure and composition of the studied community in four tree species. There was no preference for native or exotic trees, and the community showed a generalistic pattern in the choice of phorophytes. We hypothesized about other features which could be responsible for the distribution of epiphytes in the urban environment. This study showed that both exotic and native phorophytes can act as satisfactory substratum for the urban vascular epiphytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of montane environments is dictated by a variety of environmental conditions. Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca is located in the Serra da Mantiqueira, between ~1,000–1,800 m, and harbors approximately 300 ha of cloud forests. The composition of vascular epiphytes was determined by analyzing data from expeditions conducted between July 2014 and July 2015, and specimens deposited at herbaria. The 224 species were distributed into 82 genera of which Pleurothallis s.l. was the richest (13 spp.) and 23 families of which Orchidaceae was the richest (87 spp.). This richness corresponds to approximately 9.5% of the vascular epiphytic flora of the Atlantic Forest concentrated in an area that comprises 0.00085% of this phytogeographic domain, which represents one of the largest diversities ever sampled in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. This fact is more relevant given that 13 species are threatened at the country level and 23 at the state level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Biota Neotropica is the property of Biota Neotropica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

• First study of epiphyte ecological anatomy along phorophyte vertical stratification. • We analyzed monilophyte, magnoliid, monocot, and eudicot epiphytes from the Atlantic rainforest. • Foliar anatomical traits reflect the microclimatic variation found across vertical strata. • Light, temperature, and evaporation rate were the variables most closely related to variations in leaf tissue thickness. Epiphytes are constantly exposed to light, water and nutrient stress, and thereby they frequently show anatomical adaptations in response to their habit. We aimed to investigate the variation in foliar anatomical traits of epiphytes along vertical stratification. We hypothesized that different species from varied groups would show a variation in foliar anatomical traits that would reflect the variation in microclimatic variables found across phorophyte strata. To address our hypothesis, we studied 23 vascular epiphyte species from different groups (ferns, magnoliids, monocots, and eudicots), occurring on ten phorophytes from a trail at an Atlantic Rainforest fragment in southeastern Brazil. We measured six microclimatic parameters at different phorophyte heights: light intensity, temperature, relative air humidity, altitude, evaporation rate, and wind speed. We then collected expanded-leaf samples for quantitative and descriptive anatomical evaluation, seeking to detect possible correlations between structural traits and microclimatic variations. We found that overall the analyzed species showed pronounced xeromorphic characters in response to epiphytic habit, such as thick outer periclinal wall of pavement cells, lignified epidermis, multiseriate epidermis, stomata below the level of pavement cells, water-storing tissues, and parenchymatous cells with wall thickenings, among others. In most epiphytes, we also found a trend for thicker mesophyll in plants exposed to higher light intensity along different phorophyte strata. The ecophysiological significance of these adaptations is discussed in detail. Our hypothesis was accepted, since we found that species from different groups showed a variation in foliar characters that reflected the variation found in microclimatic parameters along phorophyte strata. Some anatomical traits, e.g. thick mesophyll, were influenced by height differences along phorophytes and by the consequent variation in light intensity along vertical stratification, while other traits were directly related either to the epiphytic habit, especially to the water and nutrient deficits imposed by it, or to the taxonomic group, as seen in ferns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]