14JAN

FLORAM Receives A4 Classification in Qualis Capes

The journal Floresta e Ambiente received an A4 classification in Agricultural Sciences I in the new 2021-2024 four-year period of Qualis Periódicos.

We thank our authors, reviewers, editors, and other collaborators who share this important achievement with us.

Floresta e Ambiente
https://www.floram.org/article/doi/10.1590/2179-8087-FLORAM-2025-0030
Floresta e Ambiente
Original Article Conservation of Nature

Composition and Abundance of Vascular Epiphytic Flora in Contrasting Forest Environments in the Eastern Amazon

Josiney Farias de Araújo, Felipe Fajardo Villela Antolin Barberena

Downloads: 0
Views: 24

Abstract

We analyzed the composition and abundance of the vascular epiphytic flora in non-flooded and flooded (várzea) forest in the Parque Estadual do Utinga Camillo Vianna (PEUT) in the Eastern Amazon. We sampled epiphytes from 10 canopy trees with DBH = 25-35 cm in each type of vegetation. We recorded 743 individuals from 10 families, 26 genera, and 41 species, with greater specific richness and abundance in non-flooded forest (443 individuals from 33 species and 22 genera) than in flooded forest (300 individuals from 26 species and 18 genera). Eighteen species were common to both types of vegetation. Araceae stood out with the highest species richness and Bromeliaceae with the greatest abundance. We recorded Pleopeltis and five Angiosperm species, including the aroid Heteropsis spruceana (endemic to the Brazilian Amazon), for the first time in PEUT. We also recorded Heteropsis flexuosa, a threatened with extinction species in Brazil.

Keywords

Epiphytes, conservation, endemism, flooded forest, non-flooded forest.

References

  • Adhikari YP, Hoffmann S, Kunwar RM, Bobrowski M, Jentsch A, Beierkuhnlein C. Vascular epiphyte diversity and host tree architecture in two forest management types in the Himalaya. Global Ecology Conservation 2021; 27: e01544.
  • Artaxo P, Dias MAFS, Nagy L, Luizão FJ, Cunha HB, Quesada CA et al. Perspectivas de pesquisas na relação entre clima e o funcionamento da floresta amazônica. Ciência e Cultura 2014; 66(3): 41-46.
  • Arévalo R, Betancur J. Vertical distribution of vascular epiphytes in four forest types of the Serranía de Chiribiquete, Colombian Guayana. Selbyana 2006; 27(2): 175-185.
  • Benavides AM, Duque AJ, Duivenvoorden JF, Vasco A, Callejas R. A first quantitative census of vascular epiphytes in rain forests of Colombian Amazonia. Biodiversity & Conservation 2005; 14: 739-758.
  • Bonnet A, Queiroz MH. Estratificação vertical de bromélias epifíticas em diferentes estádios sucessionais da Floresta Ombrófila Densa, Ilha de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Botânica 2006; 29(2): 217-228.
  • Bredin YK, Hawes JE, Peres CA, Haugaasen T. Structure and composition of Terra Firme and Seasonally Flooded Várzea Forests in the Western Brazilian Amazon. Forests 2020; 11(12): 1361.
  • Brito EG, Sousa JDS, Carvalho WV, Gurgel ESC. Estudo taxonômico das angiospermas epífitas de Belém, Pará, Brasil. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - Ciências Naturais 2019; 14(3): 363-390.
  • Clemente‐Arenas ER, Trujillo‐Rodriguez LR, Hilário RR, Irume MV, Zartman CE, Toledo JJ. Phorophyte size and soil profiles differentially correlate with community structure among hemiepiphytes and nomadic vines. Biotropica 2023; 55(2): 368-381.
  • Costa JM, Souza MGC, Pietrobom MR. Levantamento florístico das pteridófitas (Lycophyta e Monilophyta) do Parque Ambiental de Belém (Belém, Pará, Brasil). Revista de Biologia Neotropical 2006; 3(1): 4-12.
  • Costa JT, Estevan DA, Bianchini E, Fonseca ICDB. Composição florística das espécies vasculares e caráter sucessional da flora arbórea de um fragmento de Floresta Estacional Semidecidual no Sul do Brasil. Brazilian Journal of Botany 2011; 34(3): 411-422.
  • Coutinho LM. Biomas brasileiros. São Paulo: Oficina de Textos; 2016.
  • Ferreira LV, Maia APM, Sarmento PSM, Jardim MAG. Florística e estrutura da floresta de terra alta como instrumento de gestão ambiental do Parque Estadual do Utinga, Belém, Pará, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Geografia Física 2023; 16(3): 1419-1435.
  • Ferreira LV, Miranda AS, Gurgel ESC, Santos JU, Brito EG, Maia APM. A importância do Parque Estadual do Utinga Camilo Viana para a conservação das espécies de plantas e fungos da região metropolitana de Belém, Pará, Brasil. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - Ciências Naturais 2022; 17(1): 165-205.
  • Flora e Funga do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro. [cited 2025 jul. 16]. Available from: Available from: http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/
    » http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/
  • Furtado ACS, Valente BN, Freitas MGO, Meirelles J, Zappi DC, Feio C. Melastomataceae from the Parque Estadual do Utinga, Pará, Brazil. Paubrasilia 2024; 7: e0157.
  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility. [cited 2025 Oct. 14]. Available from: Available from: https://www.gbif.org/
    » https://www.gbif.org/
  • Irume MV, Morais MLCS, Zartman CE, Amaral IL. Floristic composition and community structure of epiphytic angiosperms in a terra alta forest in central Amazonia. Acta Botanica Brasilica 2013; 27(2): 378-393.
  • Klein VP, Demarchi LO, Quaresma AC, Cruz J, Piedade MTF. The vascular epiphyte flora in a white-sand ecosystem of the Uatumã Sustainable Development Reserve, Central Amazon. Check List 2022; 18(1): 157-186.
  • Koch AK, Santos JUM, Ilkiu-Borges AL. Bromeliaceae epífitas de uma Área de Conservação da Amazônia brasileira. Rodriguésia 2013; 64(2): 419-425.
  • Kreft H, Köster N, Küper W, Nieder J, Barthlott W. Diversity and biogeography of vascular epiphytes in Western Amazonia, Yasuní, Ecuador. Journal of Biogeography 2004; 31(9): 1463-1476.
  • Leal ES, Vasconcelos TNC, Tuberquia D, Soto Gomez M, Michelangeli FA, Forzza RC, Mello‐Silva R. Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the Panama‐hat family (Cyclanthaceae, Pandanales). Taxon 2022; 71(5): 963-980.
  • Legardón A, García-Plazaola JI. Gesneriads, a source of resurrection and double-tolerant species: proposal of new desiccation- and freezing-tolerant plants and their physiological adaptations. Biology 2023; 12(1): 107.
  • Lucas KMDS, Lopes A, Ramos FN, Wittmann F, Schöngart J, Quaresma A. Conserving Amazonian vascular epiphytes: evaluating protected areas and unveiling biodiversity through comprehensive species inventories. Biodiversity and Conservation 2025; 34(4): 1525-1539.
  • Lüttge U. Photosynthetic flexibility and ecophysiological plasticity: questions and lessons from Clusia, the only CAM tree, in the neotropics. New Phytologist 2006; 171(1): 7-25.
  • Luz ALS, Costa AAS, Moreira CR, Barberena FFVA. Vascular epiphytes in the Amazon: main gaps, limitations and perspectives for studies on the subject. Acta Botanica Brasilica 2023; 37: e20220311.
  • Magalhães JLL, Lopes MA. Species richness and abundance of low-trunk herb epiphytes in relation to host tree size and bark type, eastern Amazonia. Revista Árvore 2015; 39(3): 457-466.
  • Marcusso GM, Kamimura VA, Borgiani R, Menini Neto L, Lombardi JA. Phytogeographic meta-analysis of the vascular epiphytes in the neotropical region. The Botanical Review 2022; 88(3): 388-412.
  • Marcusso GM, Kamimura VA, Monteiro R. Epiphyte-phorophyte relationships: assessing the differences between Seasonal Semideciduous and Swamp Forests in Southeastern Brazil. Hoehnea 2019; 46(2): e232018.
  • Mendonça RA, Farias RP, Feio AC. Comparative anatomy with emphasis on the functional role of leaf secretory structures in herbivory resistance of two coexisting Microgramma species (Polypodiaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 2025; 63(5): 1-15.
  • Ministério do Meio Ambiente. Portaria n. 148, de 7 de junho de 2022. Diário Oficial da União, Brasília, DF, 8 jun. 2022; Seção 1: 89.
  • Miranda ÁMS, Brito EG, Jardim MAG, Ferreira LV. Flora epifítica em fitofisionomias do Parque Estadual do Utinga Camillo Viana, Belém, Pará, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Geografia Física 2025; 18(1): 221-233.
  • Obermuller FA, Freitas L, Daly DC, Silveira M. Patterns of diversity and gaps in vascular (hemi-) epiphyte flora of Southwestern Amazonia. Phytotaxa 2014; 166(4): 259-272.
  • Olivo-Neto AM, Carmo CM, Marcon LL, Santos Filho M, Carniello MA. Epífitas vasculares ocorrem próximas de corpos d’água na Estação Ecológica da Serra das Araras. Revista em Agronegócio e Meio Ambiente 2023; 16(1): e9706.
  • Ortega-Solís G, Díaz I, Mellado-Mansilla D, Moreno-González R, Godoy J, Samaniego H. The importance of tree species and size for the epiphytic bromeliad Fascicularia bicolor in a South-American temperate rainforest (Chile). iForest-Biogeosciences and Forestry 2020; 13(2): 92-97.
  • Peixoto AL, Maia LC. Manual de procedimentos para herbários. Recife: Editora Universitária UFPE; 2013.
  • Pietroluongo M, Anholeti MC, Fuly AL, Valverde AL, Paiva SR. Biological activities of species of the genus Clusia L (Clusiaceae): a general approach. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências 2024; 96(3): e20220649.
  • Pos ED, Sleegers ADM. Vertical distribution and ecology of vascular epiphytes in a lowland tropical rain forest of Brazil. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - Ciências Naturais 2010; 5(5): 335-344.
  • Prats KA, Brodersen CR. Desiccation and rehydration dynamics in the epiphytic resurrection fern Pleopeltis polypodioides. Plant Physiology 2021; 187(3): 1501-1518.
  • Quaresma AC, Jardim MAG. Diversidade de bromeliáceas epífitas na Área de Proteção Ambiental Ilha do Combu, Belém, Pará, Brasil. Acta Botanica Brasilica 2012; 26(2): 290-294.
  • Quaresma AC, Jardim MAG. Floristic composition and spatial distribution of vascular epiphytes in the restingas of Maracanã, Brazil. Acta Botanica Brasilica 2014; 28(1): 68-75.
  • Quaresma AC, Piedade MTF, Feitosa YO, Wittmann F, Steege HT. Composition, diversity and structure of vascular epiphytes in two contrasting Central Amazonian floodplain ecosystems. Acta Botanica Brasilica 2017; 31(4): 686-697.
  • Quaresma AC, Zartman CE, Piedade MT, Wittmann F, Jardim MA, Irume MV et al. The Amazon epiphyte network: a first glimpse into Continental-Scale patterns of Amazonian vascular epiphyte assemblages. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 2022; 5(5): 1-11.
  • Quinteros-Gómez YM, Millán B, Gómez-Ticerán D, Angeles-Alvarez F, Salinas-Inga A, Macedo-Bedoya J et al. Diversity and species of vascular epiphytes in Tingana, the highest flooded forest in Peru. Mires and Peat 2024; 31: 05.
  • Riordan EC, Ramirez OV, Rundel PW. Functional trait diversity of Cyclanthaceae and its convergent evolution with Araceae in Neotropical forests. PeerJ 2023; 11: e15557.
  • Sampaio AF, Souza MGC, Pietrobom MR. Samambaias e licófitas da Bacia Petrolífera de Urucu, Coari, Amazonas, Brasil. Acta Biológica Catarinense 2015; 2(2): 33-48.
  • Soto-Medina E, Montoya C, Castaño A, Granobles J. Diversity patterns of vascular and non-vascular epiphytes along tropical dry forest. Revista de Biología Tropical 2023; 71: e53522.
  • speciesLink. [cited 2025 Oct. 15]. Available from: Available from: https://specieslink.net/
    » https://specieslink.net/
  • Taylor A, Zotz G, Weigelt P, Cai L, Karger DN, König C et al. Vascular epiphytes contribute disproportionately to global centres of plant diversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography 2022; 31(1): 62-74.
  • Thiers BM. 2025 [updated continuously] Index Herbariorum: A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium. [cited 2025 oct. 25]. Available from: Available from: http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/
    » http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih/
  • Vargas MPB, Andel VT. The use of hemiepiphytes as craft fibres by indigenous communities in the Colombian Amazon. Ethnobotany Research & Applications 2005; 3: 243-260.
  • Watkins Júnior JE, Mack MC, Sinclair TR, Mulkey SS. Ecological and evolutionary consequences of desiccation tolerance in tropical fern gametophytes. New Phytologist 2007; 176(3): 708-717.
  • Wilder GJ, Johansen JR. Comparative morphology and anatomy of absorbing roots and anchoring roots in three species of Cyclanthaceae (Monocotyledoneae). Canadian Journal of Botany 1992; 70(1): 38-48.
  • Zotz G, Almeda F, Bautista-Bello AP, Eskov A, Giraldo-Cañas D, Hammel et al. Hemiepiphytes revisited. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 2021a; 51: 125620.
  • Zotz G, Almeda F, Arias S, Hammel B, Pansarin E. Do secondary hemiepiphytes exist? Journal of Tropical Ecology 2021b; 37: 286-290.

Submitted date:
08/28/2025

Accepted date:
12/16/2025

697b5f27a9539526013e26fd floram Articles

FLORAM

Share this page
Page Sections