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13 - The outstandingly speciose epiphytic flora of a single strangler fig (Ficus crassiuscula) in a Peruvian montane cloud forest

from Part II - Regional floristic and animal diversity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 May 2011

By
D. J. Catchpole  and
J. B. Kirkpatrick
Edited by
L. A. Bruijnzeel ,
F. N. Scatena  and
L. S. Hamilton
D. J. Catchpole
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Australia
J. B. Kirkpatrick
Affiliation:
University of Tasmania, Australia
L. A. Bruijnzeel
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
F. N. Scatena
Affiliation:
University of Pennsylvania
L. S. Hamilton
Affiliation:
Cornell University, New York
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Summary

ABSTRACT

An unprecedented total of 190 holo-epiphytic and five hemi-epiphytic vascular plant species were collected from the canopy and the trunk of a single strangler fig (Ficus crassiuscula) in a Peruvian montane cloud forest. A large majority of the vascular species were rare in occurrence, suggesting a high proportion of patchily distributed species within the cloud forest. One hundred and fourteen of the vascular epiphyte species were orchids, 37 species were ferns, and 17 species were bromeliads. Seventy-three of the orchid species belonged to the Pleurothallidinae. Perú is one of the global strongholds of remaining unmodified tropical montane cloud forest. However, cloud forest studies on any topic emanating from Perú are relatively rare. The outstanding epiphyte species richness of a single tree highlights both the importance of cloud forests for global biodiversity, and the urgency for more research and conservation initiatives within the cloud forests of Perú.

INTRODUCTION

Peruvian montane cloud forests are one of the global strongholds of remaining unmodified tropical montane cloud forest (Mulligan, this volume). However, they have received comparatively little scientific attention until now (e.g. Frahm, 1987: Leo, 1995; Weng et al. 2004; Gomez-Peralta et al., 2008) and are under increasing threat of deforestation (Young and León, 1995; Mulligan, this volume). The extinction rate of plant species through cloud forest removal in Perú is unknown because most cloud forests have not been botanically prospected (Honorio and Reynel, 2004). Epiphyte flora makes up a large component of plant diversity in Andean forests (Gentry and Dodson, 1987a; Kelly et al., 1994; Bussmann, 2001; Nieder et al., 2001, cf. Gradstein et al., this volume; Krömer and Gradstein, this volume).

Type
Chapter
Information
Tropical Montane Cloud Forests
Science for Conservation and Management
 , pp. 142 - 146
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2011

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