Floresta e Ambiente
https://www.floram.org/article/doi/10.1590/2179-8087-FLORAM-2025-0051
Floresta e Ambiente
Original Article Conservation of Nature

Epiphytic Orchids in Floodplain Forests under Intensive Management for Açaí Production in the Brazilian Amazon

Ricardo Leite Ferreira Filho, Felipe Fajardo Villela Antolin Barberena

http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087-FLORAM-2025-0051 FLORAM, vol.33, e20250051, 2026
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Abstract

We evaluated the composition and vertical distribution of epiphytic orchids in floodplain forests under intensive management for açaí production at the mouth of the Tocantins River, in the Brazilian Amazon. All host trees with a diameter at breast height ≥ 10 cm were sampled within a one-hectare area. We recorded 316 individuals of epiphytic orchids, belonging to 13 species and 12 genera. The most abundant species were Lockhartia imbricata (88 individuals) and Dimerandra emarginata (74). Seventeen trees from five families, eight genera, and eight species served as structural support for orchids. Hevea brasiliensis was the main host tree, with eight individuals supporting an average of 16 individual orchids each. The crown had the greatest number and abundance of orchid species, and 54% of the species occurred exclusively in this stratum. Our results are important for understanding the ecology of orchids inhabiting floodplain forests at river mouths impacted by anthropogenic activities.

Keywords

Conservation; Host Trees; Pará State; Vascular Epiphytes; Vertical Distribution

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Submitted date:
11/19/2026

Accepted date:
06/26/2026

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