Bryophyte Diversity Research Articles

Bryophytes diversity of Tianmushan National Nature Reserve, Zhejiang Province

Bryophytes diversity of Tianmushan National Nature Reserve, Zhejiang Province

The bryophyte richness and diversity of Tamás Pócs’s private domestic garden

This paper presents the bryophyte diversity of Tamás Pócs’s house garden in Felsőtárkány village (NE Hungary). Altogether 49 taxa (2 liverworts and 47 mosses) were recorded from the noted bryologist’s private garden. More than half of the species (57%) belong to the three families: Orthotrichaceae, Pottiaceae and Brachytheciaceae. Compared with nearby surveyed parks and botanical gardens, the private garden has outstanding bryophyte richness in relation to the size of its area. In terms of species composition the garden shows the greatest similarity to the Central park of Eger town among the nearby localities. Recent data of Entodon concinnus is the fifth occurrence in the country and the first from North East Hungary.

Floristic composition of bryophytes in disturbed habitats of two different elevations in Chandragiri Hill, central Nepal

Bryophytes are small, photosynthetic plants, capable of growing on variety of habitats, so are pioneer of ecological succession. In Nepal bryophytes have been studied floristically in different parts of the country, but the impact of disturbance on floristic composition was lacking. Therefore, present study aimed to determine floristic composition of bryophytes especially on disturbed habitat generated by recently established Cable Car facility in Chandragiri hill, Kathmandu. The study area, highly disturbed at the base (1550-1600 m asl) and top of the hill (2400-2450 m asl), were selected for the collection of bryophytes. Altogether, 17 species of bryophytes including 5 liverworts, 11 mosses and 1 hornwort were recorded from the disturbed habitats. Among the 5 classes, Bryopsida was the most dominant class followed by the class Marchantiopsida, Polytrichopsida, Jungermanniopsida and Anthocerotopsida. Impact of elevation on diversity of bryophytes was observed in both sites of disturbed habitats. The diversity of bryophyte was found higher (13 species) at the base of the hill as compared to the top (8 species). Among the 17 species of bryophytes, 5 taxa (Aerobryidium filamentosum, Anomobryum auratum, Atrichum undulatum var. subserratum, Chiloscyphus profundus and Plagiomnium ellipticum) that have not been enumerated from the study site so far were also documented.

Genetic population structure of Cheilolejeunea rigidula (Lejeuneaceae) in the Amazon region

We studied the community structure and diversity of epiphytic bryophytes in a vertical gradient from tree base to canopy in four lowland rain forest sites of the Colombian Amazon (Amazonas, Caquetá, Putumayo, and Vaupés). Each of the 64 sampled phorophytes was divided into six height zones from the base (Z1) to the outer canopy (Z6). As a subproject, we carried out a genetic population study using the liverwort Cheilolejeunea rigidula (Lejeuneaceae) as our model species, which occurred in all six height zones. In addition to 65 successfully sequenced samples from the study sites, we included individuals of C. rigidula from Guiana and Brazil (Manaus and Tapajos) to investigate the connectivity and genetic structure of this species across the Amazon region and to evaluate the genetic structure based on phorophyte height zones. Each site in Colombia, Brazil and Guiana was considered a subpopulation. The sequenced chloroplast markers (partial atpB gene, partial psbA gene/psbA-trnH spacer) showed little variation across the Amazon and the height zones on the trees. The nuclear marker (ITS) showed a spatial structure indicating genetic differentiation of subpopulations across the Amazon, but little genetic differentiation of C. rigidula along the height of the trees. The gradient across the Amazon shows a relationship between genetic distance and geographic distance, indicating dispersal limitations (P<0.001). At local and regional scales, our results suggest that dispersal can have a dominant effect on populations and communities, increasing connectivity.

Bryophytes of mangroves of Bocas del Toro, Panama

This is the first survey of bryophyte diversity in the mangroves of Panama. The study was done in the mangroves of Bocas del Toro Province, Panama, in September 2016 and, July, May and August 2017. Bryophytes were collected from prop or stilt roots of mangroves, the mid-lower part of the trunks and the lower branches. In areas inundated at high tide, additional samples were collected on the cortex of palms, its rootlets, other angiosperm trees and from decomposing logs. Twenty-six species of liverworts and seven of mosses were identified. The most diverse and predominant liverwort family was the Lejeuneaceae with twenty-two species and two varieties and, among the mosses, the Calymperaceae with three species. Species affinities with other tropical mangroves were analyzed and liverworts were found to be the dominant element. Among the liverworts collected, two are new reports for Panama: Ceratolejeunea confusa and Frullanoides mexicana. Additional surveys of the cryptogamic vegetation of Panamanian mangroves are urgently needed due to the accelerated deforestation caused by anthropic activities and the potential loss of important biodiversity.

Tree Species Drive the Diversity of Epiphytic Bryophytes in the Alpine Forest Ecosystem: A Case Study in Tibet

Epiphytic bryophytes can maintain water, recycle nutrients, and provide habitats for many other organisms in the forest ecosystem. Describing the spatial change of epiphytic bryophytes plays an important role in understanding the potential factors of diversity distribution. The study aimed to determine the influence of environmental factors on their diversity and assemblage in the alpine forest ecosystem of Sygera Mountain. We considered 72 trees, taking into account 1152 quadrats to research the study. Our results showed bryophyte richness first exhibited a hump-shaped pattern and then increased along elevation, reaching a peak at 3500 m. The richness of the eastern aspect was higher than that of the west. Diversity of Quercus semecarpifolia was the highest. There was significant variation among elevations of bryophytes assemblages, especially for the biotopes at 3900 m and 4100 m. The differences among bryophytes assemblages on aspects and tree species were less apparent. Diameter at breast height and elevation influenced assemblage composition. Elevation, tree species, and tree properties drive the diversity of epiphytic bryophytes, and tree species were significantly related to the variation in the diversity of bryophytes. These results are helpful for understanding the relationship between the spatial distribution pattern of bryophytes and the environment.

Diversity of Bryophytes in Plaosan Temple, Central Java

Bryophyte grows on various substrates, one of which is rock. Plaosan Temple is composed of andesite stone which has the potential to experience weathering caused by bryophyte. This research aims to determine the diversity of bryophyte, types and classifications of bryophyte, and to determine the bryophyte which are widely and evenly distributed in the rocks of Plaosan Temple, Central Java. Bryophytes samples were collected using the dry herbarium technique and identified at the Plant Systematics Laboratory, Faculty of Biology, UGM. Vegetation analysis was carried out using the quadrat method of 15 x 15 cm plots which were randomly distributed in 52 plots. The environmental parameters measured were air temperature, humidity, and light intensity. Species diversity was analyzed using Shannon-Wiener index. The results obtained 11 types of bryophytes grouped into two classes, namely Hepaticopsida and Bryopsida, including Barbula indica (Hook.) Spreng., Brachymenium exile (Dozy & Molk.) Bosch & Lac., Brachymenium indicum (Dozy & Molk.) Bosch & Lac., Cyathodium smaragdinum Schiffn., Fissidens atroviridis Besch., Fissidens virens Thwait. & Mitt., Fissidens zollingeri Mont., Gymnostomiella vernicosa (Hook.) Fleisch., Hyophila involuta (Hook.) A. Jaeg., Philonotis hastata (Duby) Wijk & Margad., and Riccia hasskarliana Steph. Bryophyte that is widely and evenly distributed is Barbula indica.
 Keywords: bryophyte; diversity; andesite; Plaosan temple

BRYOPHYTES OF THE NATURE MONUMENT OF NATIONAL IMPORTANCE «TEPLA JAMA» WITHIN THE VOLCANIC CARPATHIANS (UKRAINE)

Among all floristic regions of the Ukrainian Carpathians, the Volcanic Carpathians remain relatively poorly studied in terms of bryological research, and the objects of the low-ranking natural reserve fund are almost not covered by floristic investigations. As a result of our research, 60 species of bryophytes were revealed on the territory of the botanical natural monument of local importance «Tepla Yama», which is about 10% of the bryoflora diversity of the Ukrainian Carpathians as a whole. It was found out that in the taxonomic spectrum of bryophytes, the orders Bryales and Hypnales are the richest. The mosses (Bryophyta) are represented by 2 classes, 8 orders, 24 families, 45 genera and 52 species. The species richness of the families Orthotrichaceae (9 species), Brachytheciaceae (6), Neckeraceae and Amblystegiaceae (by 4), Polytrichaceae and Dicranaceae (by 3 species) reflects the general features of the bryoflora structure of the Ukrainian Carpathians. Epiphytes dominate in terms of substrate preference, which is a characteristic feature of bryophytes in broad-leaved forests. The low amount of decaying wood at this stage of forest phytocenosis development is the reason for the small number of epixylic bryophytes. Several rare montane species were found, occurring mainly in primeval and slightly disturbed forests of the Carpathians and Crimea. Among them are Metzgeria conjugata, Zygodon rupestris, Zygodon viridissimus, Ctenidium molluscum, Grimmia hartmanii, as well as Dicranum viride, which occasionally occurs on the plains and is included in the Red Book of bryophytes of Europe (Hodgest, Lockhart, 2020). Therefore, despite the close location of this forest massif to populated areas and its easy accessibility for tourists, it remains a natural center of a significant diversity of bryophytes, including montane species that are rare in Ukraine. Our research has initiated the monitoring of species diversity of this organism group, which will allow forecasting the development of this forest biogeocenosis in the future.

Biodiversity and ecological network of epiphytic bryophytes and their host trees in the forests of the southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), the highest and largest plateau in the world, plays a vital role in maintaining the balance of the global ecosystem and China's ecological barriers. The QTP ecosystems are facing serious challenges under the scenario of global climate change. Epiphytic plant diversity is one of the most significant contributors to forest diversity. Epiphytic bryophytes play an important role in forest ecosystem functioning. However, previous studies of epiphytic bryophyte diversity have rarely considered both phorophyte diversity and their ecological networks, factors that are crucial for revealing the ecological processes of community assembly and the mechanisms of biodiversity maintenance and ecosystem stability. We investigated the diversity of epiphytic bryophytes and their host trees in 18 forest sites in the southeastern QTP and analyzed the characteristics of their ecological network. A total of 57 epiphytic bryophyte species in 35 genera and 24 families and 72 individuals of host trees belonging to 14 genera and 10 families were recorded. Epiphytic bryophyte species on Picea, Abies, and Sorbus accounted for 77% of all species. The ecological network structure of epiphytic bryophytes-phorophytes exhibited low connectance and nestedness and a low degree of specialization. The cover of epiphytic bryophytes was significant positively correlated with host tree size (diameter at breast height) and not significantly correlated with bark roughness. Both tree size and bark roughness were weakly positively correlated with epiphytic bryophyte richness. The study results showed that increasing tree diversity is essential for the maintenance of the epiphytic bryophyte diversity in forests of the QTP. Biodiversity conservation of epiphytic bryophytes is consistent with conservation of their host trees.

Effects of historical management on the vegetation and habitat properties of wet meadows in Germany

Wet meadows in Germany are of high conservational value with a strong decline over the last centuries. Occasionally, new meadows developed, providing us with the opportunity to compare vegetation and habitat properties of wet meadows with currently similar, but different historical management. We categorized the areas as ancient, old or young, according to the point of establishment and grassland continuity in the last two centuries. Several trends derived from other grassland types proved also to be true for wet meadows like a high diversity of vascular plants and Red List species in long‐term managed grasslands. Old grasslands, established one to two centuries ago, exhibited the highest diversity of vascular plants and bryophytes, indicating additional plants arrived by seeding. We investigated species composition using ordination and indicator species. Ancient grasslands were characterized by plants adapted to wet meadows (Molinietalia) such as Rhinanthus serotinus. Young meadows were marked by plants revealing succession like Carex brizoides or a high productivity. A trend, contrary to other grassland types, was that most habitat properties exhibited no temporal pattern except habitat area and few soil attributes. Altogether, a stepwise intensification from ancient to young meadows was detected that reflects the fast development from traditional to modern agriculture. Including the grassland's history in conservation approaches and adapting the management accordingly will improve restoration attempts. Ancient and old grasslands provided more appropriate species for future wet meadows, whereas young grasslands often need a more intensive land use and would benefit from seeding to develop to species‐rich meadows.

Diversity and distribution of bryophytes in ion-type rare earth mines in southern Jiangxi Province, southeast China, and the implications for vegetation restoration

Diversity and distribution of bryophytes in ion-type rare earth mines in southern Jiangxi Province, southeast China, and the implications for vegetation restoration

Van Gölü ve Çevresinin Briyofit Florası (Van/Türkiye

As a result of the identification of 800 envelope bryophyte specimens, 175 taxa were recorded from the research area. No hornwort taxa could be detected and only 7 taxa liverwort belong to 5 genera were collected from the area. Factors affecting the low number of liverworts can be listed as limited habitat diversity, poor water resources, high ultraviolet, rapid evaporation and poor vegetation. Mosses are represented by 168 taxa in 67 genera belonging to 17 families. Pottiaceae, Brachytheciaceae, Orthotrichaceae, Grimmiaceae, and Bryaceae which have more than ten taxa are the most species-rich families in the research area. These families, which mostly contain xerophilous taxa, are compatible with the climate of the region. Taxa, such as Asterella saccata and Orthotrichum cupulatum var. fuscum which were recently given as new records for Turkey from the research area, reveal the bryophyte diversity potential of the region. Studies to be carried out in areas that are relatively less known in terms of bryophytes, such as Eastern Anatolia, are extremely important in terms of understanding the diversity of bryophytes in the country. In this regard, the present study provides important information on the diversity of bryophytes in Eastern Anatolia.

Contrasting responses of vascular plants and bryophytes to present and past connectivity in unmanaged grasslands

The area of semi-natural grasslands has decreased dramatically causing many grassland specialist species to persist in small habitat fragments. Furthermore, ecological communities once shaped by disturbances related to traditional agriculture now face the impacts of modern agriculture and urbanization. Many of the species have become endangered due to the combined effects of habitat destruction and degradation. We studied the responses of vascular plants and bryophytes to present and past connectivity in semi-natural grasslands, while accounting for the effects of local environmental conditions. We conducted vegetation surveys in 33 fragmented, unmanaged dry grasslands in Southwest Finland. A total of 191 vascular plant species and 60 bryophyte species were recorded. Higher vascular plant diversity was associated with higher historical connectivity, whereas bryophyte diversity declined with increasing current connectivity. Edaphic conditions, microclimate and disturbances were found to structure both vascular plant and bryophyte communities, but the responses to individual environmental variables were very different. The contrasting responses could be explained by the differences between the typical life-history strategies in vascular plants and bryophytes as well as resource competition between the two groups. These results highlight the need to consider different species groups when planning conservation measures. Vascular plant richness may best be conserved in connected grasslands whereas bryophyte richness in isolated ones. The results also indicated that trampling by humans could result in positive disturbance and to some extent help maintain richness of grassland specialist species.

Associations between Epiphytic Bryophyte and Woody Plant Species in a Temperate Deciduous Broad-Leaved Forest

Determining whether epiphytic bryophytes have ecological preferences for woody plants remains difficult. Here, our primary aim in developing the torus-translation test is to evaluate the associations between epiphytic bryophytes and woody plants at the species, genus, or family levels in a 100 m × 100 m forest dynamics plot in a temperate, deciduous broad-leaved forest (China). We collected all the epiphytic bryophyte species on woody plants and recorded the woody plant species in the 1-ha plot in 2020. All the epiphytic bryophytes on the trees from the ground level up to 2 m were collected. We recorded 988 epiphytic bryophyte specimens belonging to 61 species in 254 woody plants. The Torus-translation test showed that 93.44% (57/61), 93.44% (57/61), and 98.36% (60/61) of the bryophyte species were significantly positively associated with the family, genus, and species of woody plants, respectively. A total of 317, 563, and 857 significant positive associations concerning the family, genus, and species of the woody plants were observed among the 61 examined bryophyte species. In addition, few significant negative associations were identified regarding the family, genus, and species of woody plants. More rare bryophyte species were positively correlated with woody plants than dominant bryophyte species. Our study demonstrates that most epiphytic bryophytes exhibit ecological habitat preferences for woody plants. These observations highlight the importance of the species composition of woody plants with respect to the maintenance of epiphytic bryophytes’ diversity. Epiphytic bryophytes’ growth preference for woody plants, especially rare bryophyte species, should be considered in the process of bryophyte diversity conservation in temperate, deciduous broad-leaved forests.

Temperature factors are a primary driver of the forest bryophyte diversity and distribution in the southeast Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an amplifier of global climate change, where the climate change is happening faster or more dramatically. Bryophytes play an important role in forest communities, and they are sensitive to climate change. In this study, we selected 75 sites in locations in the southeast QTP with well-developed forests and collected bryophytes from soils, stones, trees, and dead wood. By utilizing the large sample set obtained, we investigated the responses of the forest bryophyte diversity and distribution to climate change. We extracted and measured 10 climate factors, including nine macroclimate factors: humidity-, temperature-, solar radiation-related factors, and one microclimate factor, canopy density. We used the ordinary least squares (OLS) to establish simple and multiple regression models between the Shannon diversity index and climate factors and utilized the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to investigate the response of the total bryophyte distribution and the differential response of bryophytes growing on soils, stones, trees, and dead wood to climate. We found that most climate factors showed unimodal patterns with the forest bryophyte diversity, and when climate change exceeded the optimal threshold for bryophyte growth, with even small increases, this led to a decrease in the bryophyte diversity. In contrast to previous studies on the response of bryophytes to the climate in other regions, we found temperature factors (i.e., minimal temperature and daily temperature range) were the most influential drivers of the forest bryophyte diversity and distribution, regardless of the growth substrate in the southeast QTP. According to the total explained variance of climate factors to the bryophyte distribution, the bryophytes growing on trees (10.6%) and dead wood (14.3%) were more sensitive to climate than those growing on soils (6.9%) and stones (7.7%). Therefore, with continued global warming, the forest bryophytes of the QTP will face a great threat, as they are most effected by temperature change among all of the climate factors.

Epiphyllous Bryophyte Diversity in Lowland Rain Forest and Lowland Cloud Forest of French Guiana

Diversité des bryophytes épiphylles dans une forêt pluviale de plaine et une forêt nuageuse de plaine de Guyane française. La forêt tropicale nuageuse de plaine (LCF) est seulement connue en Guyane française mais pourrait être plus répandue dans les tropiques. Elle se distingue botaniquement de la forêt pluviale de plaine (LRF) par la diversité et la composition des groupements d'épiphytes présents dans la canopée. Pour faciliter la détection de la LCF, des indicateurs fiables au niveau du sol sont nécessaires. Une première comparaison de la diversité des bryophytes épiphylles dans le sous-bois de la LRF et de la LCF de Guyane française a révélé une richesse en espèces cinq fois plus élevée dans la LCF. L'abondance des espèces était également beaucoup plus élevée dans la LCF. L'efficacité de l'échantillonnage était d'environ 80 % dans chaque type de forêt. Six espèces (11 %) ont été trouvées dans les deux types de forêt, 43 espèces (80 %) ont été trouvées uniquement dans la LCF et cinq espèces (9 %) uniquement dans la LRF. Les espèces exclusives à la LCF n'étaient cependant pas uniques à la forêt nuageuse à une plus grande échelle. Les Lejeuneaceae Rostovzev ont contribué à 100 % de la diversité épiphylle dans la LRF et à 70 % dans la LCF. La plus faible représentation des Lejeuneaceae dans la LCF concorde avec le fait que la diversité des espèces épiphytes dans la LCF est similaire à celle des forêts montagnardes. La diversité des bryophytes épiphylles, plus que la composition des espèces, peut être un outil approprié pour la reconnaissance de la forêt nuageuse de plaine au niveau du sol, sans implication de l'escalade des arbres.

Synergistic effects in mine offsite landscapes: Predicted ecosystem shifts could exacerbate mining effects on bryophyte community structure

Global change is shifting ecosystem type relative abundance in boreal forests, while the green energy transition results in increased mining activities around the globe. The interaction and consequent effects of these two trends on biodiversity have not been examined in depth. Bryophytes species can be used as indicators to measure these effects because they play key ecological roles in boreal forests. We identified and evaluated the interaction between ecosystem type (i.e., coniferous, deciduous, mixed forest and open canopy) and mining on microhabitat scale bryophyte diversity and composition in 1-km landscapes surrounding six mine sites at different stages of the mining lifecycle in the Canadian boreal forest. Irrespective of microhabitat type, the combined effects of ecosystem type and mining stage were interactive on bryophytes. Bryophyte richness and community composition were negatively affected by offsite effects of mines in only deciduous and mixed forests. The interacted effects on bryophyte richness mainly occurred on the ground r microhabitats. We also found that deciduous, mixed forests (coniferous forest as a reference) and mines had a negative impact on the abundance of feather mosses and sphagna. Furthermore, indicator species were identified for areas affected by mines (Pohlia nutans and Dicranum polysetum) and for control areas (Sphagnum angustifolium and Plagiomnium cuspidatum). Our results suggest the predicted ecosystem shifts with global changes, from coniferous to deciduous forests, could potentially increase the effects of mining on forest ecosystem resistance through the changes in bryophyte community structure. Adding microhabitats (i.e., adding coarse woody debris) near mine sites is a potential strategy to maintain species richness. Collectively, these findings advance our understanding of how mining affects biodiversity and highlight the importance of considering mine offsite landscapes in future environmental evaluations of development projects in the context of global changes.

Reference bioimaging to assess the phenotypic trait diversity of bryophytes within the family Scapaniaceae

Macro- and microscopic images of organisms are pivotal in biodiversity research. Despite that bioimages have manifold applications such as assessing the diversity of form and function, FAIR bioimaging data in the context of biodiversity are still very scarce, especially for difficult taxonomic groups such as bryophytes. Here, we present a high-quality reference dataset containing macroscopic and bright-field microscopic images documenting various phenotypic characters of the species belonging to the liverwort family of Scapaniaceae occurring in Europe. To encourage data reuse in biodiversity and adjacent research areas, we annotated the imaging data with machine-actionable metadata using community-accepted semantics. Furthermore, raw imaging data are retained and any contextual image processing like multi-focus image fusion and stitching were documented to foster good scientific practices through source tracking and provenance. The information contained in the raw images are also of particular interest for machine learning and image segmentation used in bioinformatics and computational ecology. We expect that this richly annotated reference dataset will encourage future studies to follow our principles.

Diversity of Bryophytes in India - Special Reference to North-East India

Bryophytes, the first non-vascular embryophytes, are an interesting component of phytodiversity. North-East India can be considered as a hub of bryo-floristic species due to its suitable climatic condition butecological research on bryo-flora is in infancy. Therefore, to assess the diversity and distribution ofbryophytes, we conducted a literature review. From our study, about 23000 species of bryophytes arerecorded in world and nearly 2489 taxa are noted from India among which 340 species are endemic. InNorth-Eastern India, about 1786 of bryophytes are abundantly distributed and most of the endemic specieshave been recorded from Sikkim. Diversity of bryophytes acts as one of the important ecological indicators.A new vision of research has been provided by this review paper on the diversity of bryophytes andconservation of endemic species for future aspects.

Long-term changes in bryophyte diversity of central European managed forests depending on site environmental features

Cryptogamic diversity is a reliable indicator of the state of forest ecosystems. In this study we analysed the variations in both bryophyte species richness overall and number of hemerophobic bryophyte species in Central European managed forests over a 20-year time span, based on data collected in 132 plots scattered across Poland. We tested differences in species richness among five temporal replicates, as well as among site types grouped based on elevation a.s.l., dominant tree species and stand age. The analyses revealed no significant trend in species richness across years. Meanwhile, species richness significantly increased along with elevation a.s.l., especially in broadleaved forests. No significant difference in species number between spruce and pine dominated stands emerged for mature stands, while there was a strong difference for young stands, with spruce forest hosting a much higher number of species. Species richness exhibited a slight, but not significant, increase over time in broadleaved forests, no significant variations in pine dominated stands and significant fluctuations in spruce dominated stands, yet without a significant trend. Out of the tested drivers, dominant tree species exhibited the strongest impact on species community composition. Number of hemerophobic and strongly hemerophobic species did not undergo significant variations across years either. The lack of bryophyte diversity trends highlighted in this study suggests Central European managed forests are in an equilibrium sate, maintained by the opposing effects of climate changes, on one side and of more sustainable forest management and pollutant deposition decline, from the other.