Taxonomic and Biogeographical Analysis of Bryophytes in the Coastal Area of the Ukrina River (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Abstract

Bryophytes are a blind branch in the evolution of plants, but they are a very significant group, which makes a remarkable component of the whole biodiversity owing to the number of described species and its wide coverage. This work shows a taxonomic and biogeographical analysis of Bryophytes in the coastal area of the Ukrina River (Bosnia and Herzegovina). There have been 43 species sampled and determined in the researched localities. The Hepaticopsida class is represented by only one species, Radula complanata, the Bryopsida class dominates almost completely. Among Bryopsida, the representatives of the Hypnales order occur in a great percentage (40.48%). Further, 27 genera have been identified in the bryoflora of the researched area. The species of the Bryum genus (5) take the greatest proportion. In the bryoflora of the researched area the most prevailing is temperate, i.e. a floral element of moderate zones, with 88.37%, then a submediterranean floral element follows with 6.98% and boreal (4.65%). At the researched locality, the most represented are chamephyta with 74.29%, whereas life forms of hemicriptophyta and epiphyte cover significantly lower percentage of Bryophyte flora. Apart from the ecology, the research on Bryophyte is also notable for the areas of pharmacy and medicine because many of their species are capable to synthesize antibiotic substances.