Abstract
Abstract This study aimed to characterize the floristic composition and community structure of vascular epiphytes in 13 green areas of Juiz de Fora, in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The calculated parameters were relative and absolute frequencies, Shannon diversity (H') and Pielou evenness (J) indices. 56 species belonging to 22 families were recorded, with the richest species being Bromeliaceae (eight spp.). Tillandsia tricholepis, T. recurvata, Microgramma squamulosa, and Rhipsalis lindbergiana were dominant (comprising 79.5% of relative frequency). Most species were accidental epiphytes (26 spp.), probably due to an effect of the disturbed environment. The richest and most diverse area was the Parque Halfeld (26 species and H’=2.2), which is also the oldest sampled area. There was a higher concentration of epiphytes in the tree crowns, possibly representing a response to anthropic actions. The results highlighted the importance of thorough studies to achieve a better understanding of this ecologically relevant synusia in such disturbed environments.
Highlights
The urban environment is highly modified by anthropic actions, it has been previously composed of natural vegetation and may represent vegetation refuges in most cities (Silva et al, 2013)
(six spp. each) and Cactaceae, comprising 29 species or approximately 52% of the total recorded richness. These families are among the richest one regarding vascular epiphyte species (Benzing, 1990; Zotz, 2016), which constitutes a pattern found in the Neotropical Region (Gentry & Dodson, 1987) and the Atlantic Forest (Kersten, 2010; Freitas et al, 2016), in which the studied area is inserted, it could be noted that the rank may be different depending on the evaluated vegetation physiognomy
Commelinaceae, Moraceae, Poaceae, and Solanaceae presented two species each, while the remaining families only presented one species each. This result showed that the green areas of the city of Juiz de Fora presented a relevant epiphyte flora when compared with similar studies performed in other urban areas (Hefler & Faustioni, 2004; Fabricante et al, 2006; Alves et al, 2014; Lapo & Magenta, 2014; Becker et al, 2015), and similar to the results of Furtado & Menini (2015) regarding cultivated trees and remnants of semi-deciduous seasonal forest in the campus of the Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF)
Summary
The urban environment is highly modified by anthropic actions, it has been previously composed of natural vegetation and may represent vegetation refuges (green areas) in most cities (Silva et al, 2013). These green areas can contribute to biodiversity conservation, even acting as small ecological corridors (Gomes & Soares, 2003). The canopy represents a complex structure of the forest (Lowman & Rinker, 2004), it is often not frequent in urban green areas (parks, squares, etc.), since the trees have grown in isolation (in beds) and have possibly presented distinct dynamics in comparison with the forest
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