Associações de espécies, estrutura de comunidades e comparações metodológicas para estudo de briófitas do Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca (Minas Gerais, Brasil)

Abstract

Bryophytes are terrestrial and cryptogamic plants. They are represented by three monophyletic units: liverworts, hornworts and mosses. They are cosmopolitan, however, due to dependence on water for reproduction and vegetative growth, they are more common in moist areas, such as tropical forests. They are very representative at Brazilian Atlantic Forest Domain, in Brazil. Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca is situated at Atlantic Forest Domain, at Minas Gerais state. It encompasses different forest, grassland, shrub and savanna phytophysiognomies. The aim of this work was to study bryophyte’s ecology at Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca. The plants were collected following two collecting methods: free walking and plots. We evaluated characteristics from bryophytes associations in different phytophysiognomies at Parque, to check if there is competition between studied plants; we analyzed mosses communities structures from the edge to interior of the phytophysiogomy: Floresta Latifoliada Nebular Perenifólia Tropical Superomontana, to evaluate if there is difference between these mosses’ communities; and we compared the results obtained between the two collecting methods, to determine which is the best method to study bryophytes at forest areas. We analyzed 2785 bryophytes specimens, identified into 246 species. 31 bryophytes species were cited for the first time to Parque Estadual do Ibtipoca, 22 are liverworts species and nine are mosses species. Three species are endemic from Brazil. Almost 75% of the species analyzed were collected in association, at different phytophysiognomies from the Parque; the high number of bryophytes moderately associable and very associable found at humid areas, allied to null models of species co-occurrence patterns suggested that bryophytes from Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca are not competing by humidity. We observed differences between bryophyte’s communities structure at edge and interior from Floresta Latifoliada Nebular Perenifólia Tropical Superomontana. Comparisons between free walking and plots methods showed different results between these methods. It was necessary less collection effort to plots method than free walking method. However, the relation between number of bryophyte’s species identified and number of specimens collected were larger when we utilized free walking method, if comparing with plots method.