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Abstract
The study was carried out in a 3,000 m2 area of coastal Atlantic rain forest at Ilha do Mel island (25 degrees 30"S 48 degrees 23'W), on 100 assorted trees separated into 2 meter-high strata starting from the ground. In each stratum all of the occurring epiphytic species were recorded. The sampled species were grouped into three categories: exclusive, preferential, and indifferent, according to their abundance in each strata, and selective, preferential and indifferent, according to abundance on the forophytes. Intermediate strata registered the highest diversity. Six species were considered exclusive to one or two strata, 15 were restricted to some strata and 5 presented a broad distribution. No epiphytic species showed uniform horizontal distribution on the area. The epiphyte richness in a host tree varied from zero to 30. Regarding to fidelity on host tree species, few selective or preferential, and mainly indifferent epiphyte species, were found. A total of 82 epiphyte species were sampled in the surveyed tree, and the Wittaker plot indicate a highly dominant assemblage.
Highlights
The distributions of epiphyte depend on the forophyte species, age and characteristics such as shape, bark texture, branching patterns and height (Freiberg 1996)
Size of leaves and canopy density, affect the total rain retention and rearrangement, which influences the distribution of epiphytes (Parker 1995)
Its semi-hydromorphic soil is flooded during the rainy seasons, the forest contains three main strata: lower stratum contains herbaceous plants, leaf litter and shoots, middle stratum with bushes and samplings, and the upper stratum with only few species trees, which may reach over 20 m (Silva & Britez 2005)
Summary
The distributions of epiphyte depend on the forophyte species, age and characteristics such as shape, bark texture, branching patterns and height (Freiberg 1996). Size of leaves and canopy density, affect the total rain retention and rearrangement, which influences the distribution of epiphytes (Parker 1995). In addition to environmental characteristics, intra and interspecific interactions can control the distribution patterns of some species (Yeaton & Gladstone 1982, Hietz & Hietz-Seifert 1995). Distribution of epiphytes among different host species is related to factors such as moisture retention, chemical composition and bark morphology, which can be decisive on the establishing and developing of some species (Benzing 1990). The objective of this study was to describe the vascular epiphyte community, its spatial distribution patterns and composition on different host tree species
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