Species richness and habitat diversification of bryophytes in submontane rain forest and fallows of Bolivia

By A. Acebey, S. Gradstein, T. Krömer. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 2003

160 citations recorded by the source corpus.

An analysis of corticolous bryophyte diversity on whole trees in primary rain forest and 4-15-y-old fallows at 500-650 m in the Alto Beni, Bolivia, showed a significantly decreased diversity of bryophyte families and moss species in the fallows. However, liverwort diversity was scarcely lower in the fallows, except in the very young (4 y old) ones. Fallows had a significantly higher percentage of smooth mat species (72%), which may reflect the warmer, drier microclimate in the fallows. About half of the bryophyte species of the rain forest had re-established in the 10-15-y-old fallows. The majority of these are ecological generalists and sun epiphytes; a small minority are shade epiphytes. Re-establishment of ecological specialists is slower than that of generalists. Species richness in the primary forest is highest in the canopy; in the fallows it is highest in the understorey due to striking shifts of species and specialized growth types (rough mats, fans, tails) towards lower heights on the trees in the fallows. These shifts correspond well with measured changes in air temperature and air humidity in the fallows as compared with the forest.

Subfields: Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Plant Science

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Citations in the corpus

Disturbance effects on diversity of epiphytes and moths in a montane forest in Ecuador (2008, unknown): “…shade epiphytes, which are adapted to growth in the dark and humid understorey of the forest, while species restricted to disturbed habitats are able to tolerate a high light intensity and low air humidity (Gradstein et al., 2001; Acebey et al., 2003; Krömer & Gradstein 2004; Nöske, 2005).”
Vertical stratification of vascular epiphytes in submontane and montane forest of the Bolivian Andes: the importance of the understory (2007, background): “…occurrence in the seven height zones (understory plus tree zones Z1–Z5), a total of 242 epiphyte species (134 from Sapecho, 127 from Cotapata) that were recorded at least seven times were classified into four ecological types (Acebey et al. 2003; Krömer and Kessler 2006; Appendix Table 3; Fig.”
Niche assembly of epiphytic bryophyte communities in the Guianas: a regional approach (2009, background): “Journal of Biogeography 36, 2076–2084 2079 ª 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1999; Acebey et al., 2003) or have a decreased abundance as a function of forest fragmentation (Pereira Alvarenga & Pôrto, 2007).”
Cryptogamic epiphytes in primary and recovering upper montane oak forests of Costa Rica – species richness, community composition and ecology (2005, background): “Acebey et al. (2003) showed a significantly decreased diversity of epiphytic bryophytes in young fallows; after 10–15 years only half of the bryophyte species of rain forest had re-established.”