Nivea Dias dos Santos

A importância de Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural para a conservação da brioflora da Mata Atlântica: um estudo em El Nagual, Magé, RJ, Brasil

A floristic survey of the bryophytes was carried out in the El Nagual Private Natural Heritage Reserve, a submontane Atlantic rain forest remnant in Rio de Janeiro state. One hundred and thirty seven species were recorded (one Anthocerotae, 70 hepatics and 66 mosses) plus two varieties, in 75 genera and 37 families. Five species are new records for Rio de Janeiro state. Lejeuneaceae (27 spp.), Pilotrichaceae (17 spp.), Aneuraceae (9 spp.), and Calymperaceae (8 spp.) are especially rich in species (44% of the bryoflora). Seven life-forms were found; the most common are weft (37%), turf (16%), and thallose (15%). Six kinds of substrate were colonized, the most important species types being corticicolous (52%) and rupicolous (42%). The most common distribution patterns were Neotropical and Pantropical. Four species were considered to be vulnerable in the state. The results show that the bryoflora of the El Nagual Reserve is relatively rich and demonstrate the importance of this conservation unit category in the protection of remnant Atlantic rain forests and in the conservation of the bryoflora.

Altitudinal zonation of liverworts in the Atlantic Forest, Southeastern Brazil

An analysis of liverwort diversity in Rio de Janeiro state has been done, with the objective to elucidate the richness and floristic composition of the different formations of the Atlantic Forest, and the influence of the altitudinal gradient on the liverworts. For this, data from literature, herbarium, floristic inventories and data bank of the states flora were combined. The liverwort flora is composed of 360 taxa distributed among 102 genera and 31 families, emphasizing the importance of the remaining part of Rio de Janeiros tropical rainforest for the conservation of the liverwort diversity in Brazil. In the states remaining tropical rainforests 50% of the liverwort flora of the country and 72% of that of the Atlantic Forest are found. The flora is not uniform, presenting differences in species richness and floristic composition in different formations of the states Atlantic Forest, in addition to a floristic gradient along the altitudinal gradient. The Montane formation has higher species richness (238), number of exclusive taxa (63) and endemics (27), followed by the Upper Montane formation (173, 58 and 21, respectively). Lejeuneaceae stands out as the richest family in all formations, whereas other families are exclusive to certain formations. As is true for mosses, several liverworts appear as diagnostic features of altitudinal belts in Atlantic Forest, corroborating the use of bryophytes as indicators of altitudinal zonation in tropical rainforests.An analysis of liverwort diversity in Rio de Janeiro state has been done, with the objective to elucidate the richness and floristic composition of the different formations of the Atlantic Forest, and the influence of the altitudinal gradient on the liverworts. For this, data from literature, herbarium, floristic inventories and data bank of the states flora were combined. The liverwort flora is composed of 360 taxa distributed among 102 genera and 31 families, emphasizing the importance of the remaining part of Rio de Janeiros tropical rainforest for the conservation of the liverwort diversity in Brazil. In the states remaining tropical rainforests 50% of the liverwort flora of the country and 72% of that of the Atlantic Forest are found. The flora is not uniform, presenting differences in species richness and floristic composition in different formations of the states Atlantic Forest, in addition to a floristic gradient along the altitudinal gradient. The Montane formation has higher species richness (238), number of exclusive taxa (63) and endemics (27), followed by the Upper Montane formation (173, 58 and 21, respectively). Lejeuneaceae stands out as the richest family in all formations, whereas other families are exclusive to certain formations. As is true for mosses, several liverworts appear as diagnostic features of altitudinal belts in Atlantic Forest, corroborating the use of bryophytes as indicators of altitudinal zonation in tropical rainforests.

Phytogeography of the liverwort flora of the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil

Abstract This work analyzes the phytogeographic patterns of the liverwort flora of the Atlantic Forest of the Rio de Janeiro State, south-eastern Brazil. The analysis was based on inventories made in fragments of Atlantic Forest in the state, collections from the RB herbarium, and information from the checklist and database of the bryoflora of Rio de Janeiro. The phytogeographic pattern for each taxon was characterized based on its current distribution. Three hundred and sixty liverwort taxa are recognized for Rio de Janeiro. The liverwort flora varies along an altitudinal gradient within the Atlantic Forest, with the montane belt having the greatest species richness (238), the highest number of exclusive taxa (63) and the greatest number of endemic species (23). The predominant phytogeographic element is of neotropical species (49%), followed by disjunct liverworts (18%). Forty-one taxa (11%) are endemic to the country, of which 34 are restricted to the Atlantic Forest. In the lowland and submontane formations species are wide-ranging, whereas the montane and upper montane formations are characterized by endemic species or those disjunct with the Andes. The liverwort flora emphasizes the importance of the fragments of Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro as a centre of diversity and endemism, supporting 50% of the total liverwort species known in Brazil, 72% of those recorded from Atlantic Forest and 55% of the endemic species of the country. Species with an Afro-American and Andean disjunction make up a characteristic part of the liverwort flora, probably reflecting the effects of long-distance dispersal by air currents, migration over land before the breakup of the continents and climatic similarities between the high-altitude grasslands and the northern Andes.

Beta-diversity: Effect of geographical distance and environmental gradients on the rocky outcrop bryophytes

Abstract The rocky outcrops are indeed islands amidst a “sea” of soil and thus their floristic composition and species diversity are influenced by stochasticity. Our discovery was settled to regional level, mainly from the Mantel tests (rM = 0.41, p = 0.01) and partial Mantel (rM = 0.41, p = 0.03), significant when contrasting the floristic x geographical distances and floristic x geographical distances with environment distance weighted, respectively. At the local level, clustering by Group mean (UPGMA) did not show a general pattern for the geographical distance, suggesting that in outcrops stochastic processes are the major actors at the regional scale while the local level need to be more intensely studied in order to reach better conclusions.

Variations In Bryophyte Communities In A Short Elevational Gradient In Atlantic Forest Of Southeastern Brazil

Abstract In order to better understand the influence of short elevational gradient on the attributes of bryophyte communities, we examined the bryophyte flora within six elevational belts (10, 50, 400, 800, 950, and 1170 m a.s.l.) on a mountain in the Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil. Ten subplots (10 × 10 m) distributed randomly in 1 ha forest plot of forest at each elevation were surveyed. A total of 253 species were encountered and the richness did not vary depending significantly on elevation. The floristic similarities of the elevational belts were high > 50%, with the exception of the Mountaintop forest (< 35%), and the classification analyses indicated groups defined by Atlantic Forest vegetation types. Endemism demonstrated a positive correlation with elevation, while the amplitudes of the phytogeographical patterns of the species diminished with increasing elevation. The dioicous condition predominated in all of the elevational belts, and the dioicous/monoicous ratio showed an inverted-parabolic pattern along the gradient. Data concerning bryophyte species richness and distributions will be useful in future projects monitoring the effects of climate change on tropical forests.