Large‐scale diversity patterns of vascular epiphytes in Neotropical montane rain forests

Aim  Epiphytes contribute up to 30% to the number of vascular plant species in certain global biodiversity hotspots, e.g. the Ecuadorian Andes. However, their large scale diversity patterns are still discussed on the base of results from a few, local epiphyte inventories. Consequently, explanatory models on epiphyte diversity concentrate on the impact of local climate on small scale epiphyte species richness. Our aim was to analyse large scale elevational patterns of epiphyte diversity integrating data from different geographic scales.

[1]  W. Barthlott,et al.  Diversity and biogeography of vascular epiphytes in Western Amazonia, Yasuní, Ecuador , 2004 .

[2]  M. Kessler.  Pteridophyte species richness in Andean forests in Bolivia , 2001, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[3]  M. Kessler.  Elevational gradients in species richness and endemism of selected plant groups in the central Bolivian Andes , 2000, Plant Ecology.

[4]  Henrik Balslev,et al.  Vascular plant species count in a wet forest in the Chocó area on the Pacific coast of Colombia , 1998, Biodiversity & Conservation.

[5]  J. Wolf.  Factors controlling the distribution of vascular and non-vascular epiphytes in the northern Andes , 1994, Vegetatio.

[6]  Kalle Ruokolainen,et al.  Dispersal, Environment, and Floristic Variation of Western Amazonian Forests , 2003, Science.

[7]  M. Kessler.  The elevational gradient of Andean plant endemism: varying influences of taxon‐specific traits and topography at different taxonomic levels , 2002 .

[8]  M. Schartl,et al.  Biogeography of the Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa , 2002 .

[9]  W. Lauer.  Die Klimate der Erde : eine Klassifikation auf der Grundlage der öphysiologischen Merkmale der realen Vegetation , 2002 .

[10]  J. Terborgh,et al.  DOMINANCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF TREE SPECIES IN UPPER AMAZONIAN TERRA FIRME FORESTS , 2001 .

[11]  J. Semir,et al.  Pollinator Specificity and Convergence in Fly-pollinated Pleurothallis(Orchidaceae) Species: A Multiple Population Approach , 2001 .

[12]  J. Ackerman,et al.  Biogeography of the Antilles based on a parsimony analysis of orchid distributions , 2001 .

[13]  G. Webster,et al.  Plant Diversity of an Andean Cloud forest: Inventory of the Vascular Flora of Maquipucuna, Ecuador , 2001 .

[14]  Wilhelm Barthlott,et al.  Spatial Distribution of Vascular Epiphytes (including Hemiepiphytes) in a Lowland Amazonian Rain Forest (Surumoni Crane Plot) of Southern Venezuela 1 , 2000 .

[15]  R. Mittermeier,et al.  Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities , 2000, Nature.

[16]  W. Barthlott,et al.  Spatial Distribution of Vascular Epiphytes (including Hemiepiphytes) in a Lowland Amazonian Rain Forest (Surumoni Crane Plot) of Southern Venezuela1 , 2000 .

[17]  Renato Valencia,et al.  Libro rojo de las plantas endémicas del Ecuador , 2000 .

[18]  J. Ackerman,et al.  Genetic Variation in a Widespread, Epiphytic Orchid: Where is the Evolutionary Potential? , 1999 .

[19]  Wilhelm Barthlott,et al.  Terminological and methodological aspects of the mapping and analysis of the global biodiversity , 1999 .

[20]  D. Benzing.  Vulnerabilities of Tropical Forests to Climate Change: The Significance of Resident Epiphytes , 1998 .

[21]  D. Olson,et al.  The Global 200: A Representation Approach to Conserving the Earth’s Most Biologically Valuable Ecoregions , 1998 .

[22]  Martin Freiberg.  Spatial distribution of vascular epiphytes on three emergent canopy trees in French Guiana , 1996 .

[23]  N. Nadkarni,et al.  FLORISTIC COMPOSITION OF VASCULAR EPIPHYTES IN A NEOTROPICAL CLOUD FOREST, MONTEVERDE, COSTA RICA , 1996 .

[24]  P. Hietz,et al.  Composition and ecology of vascular epiphyte communities along an altitudinal gradient in central Veracruz, Mexico , 1995 .

[25]  V. Kapos,et al.  Floristics and biogeography of a rain forest in the Venezuelan Andes , 1994 .

[26]  D. Zappi,et al.  Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru , 1994 .

[27]  D. Daly,et al.  Catalogue of the Flowering Plants and Gymnosperms of Peru. , 1994 .

[28]  D. Benzing.  Vascular Epiphytes: General Biology and Related Biota , 1990 .

[29]  L. Lefkovitch,et al.  Associations of vascular epiphytes in a Guatemalan cloud forest , 1989 .

[30]  H. Balslev.  DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS OF ECUADOREAN PLANT SPECIES , 1988 .

[31]  M. Soulé,et al.  Conservation Biology: The Science of Scarcity and Diversity. , 1988 .

[32]  Thomas Stadtmüller,et al.  Cloud Forests in the Humid Tropics: A Bibliographic Review , 1987 .

[33]  A. Gentry.  DIVERSITY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF NEOTROPICAL VASCULAR EPIPHYTES , 1987 .

[34]  A. Sugden,et al.  Aspects of the Ecology of Vascular Epiphytes in Colombian Cloud Forests, I. The Distribution of the Epiphytic Flora , 1979 .

[35]  H. Vogelmann.  Fog Precipitation in the Cloud Forests of Eastern Mexico , 1973 .

[36]  T. Whitmore,et al.  A Comparison of Montane and Lowland Rain Forest in Ecuador: II. The Climate and its Effects on the Distribution and Physiognomy of the Forests , 1966 .

[37]  H. Gleason.  Species and Area , 1925 .

[38]  A. P. W. Schimper.  Die epiphytische Vegetation Amerikas , 1888 .