Abstract
Serra da Canastra National Park is located in southwestern Minas Gerais State and contains several phytophysiognomies of the Brazilian Cerrado. To date, no study on bryophytes has been conducted in this area and the present study is the first to be carried out in this major biological reserve of Cerrado located on the Brazilian Plateau. This study found 289 species of bryophytes, including mosses, liverworts, and one species of hornwort, representing fourty-one Brazilian endemic species and 56 new records for Minas Gerais State. Most species are widely distributed in Brazil, with only 16% having restricted distributions. Regarding worldwide distribution, 31% are Neotropical. Lejeuneaceae had the highest species richness among liverwort families with 53 species, whereas Sphagnaceae had the highest richness among moss families with 26 species. Phaeoceros laevis was the only hornwort species found in the park. This study contributes to the understanding of bryophyte species richness and distribution, and provides the worldwide and Brazilian distribution of the bryophyte flora of Serra da Canastra National Park, an important center for biodiversity conservation.
Highlights
Serra da Canastra National Park was created in order to protect the source of the São Francisco River, which is the watercourse arising in the huge chest-shaped plateau
Serra da Canastra National Park is located in southwestern Minas Gerais State and contains several phytophysiognomies of the Brazilian Cerrado
This study found 289 species of bryophytes, including mosses, liverworts, and one species of hornwort, representing fourtyone Brazilian endemic species and 56 new records for Minas Gerais State
Summary
Serra da Canastra National Park was created in order to protect the source of the São Francisco River, which is the watercourse arising in the huge chest-shaped plateau. Floristic surveys conducted in areas of Minas Gerais that are similar to Serra da Canastra include Yano & Carvalho (1995) who found 46 species in Serra da Piedade; Yano & Peralta (2009) who found 42 species of mosses and hepatics in the Grão-Mogol mountains; Yano & Peralta (2011a) found 114 species in Serra de São José at the city of Tiradentes; Yano & Peralta (2011b) found 237 species in Serra do Cipó; Luizi-Ponzo et al (2013) found 209 species in Ibitipoca State Park and, recently, Souza & Câmara (2015) who studied the mosses of gallery forest in Serra do Cipó National Park These works contain relevant floristic data and are useful in the identification of some species. They provide species lists and document the location of bryophytes in these regions, resulting in knowledge of about 766 species of bryophytes in Minas Gerais State (Costa & Peralta 2015)
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