Efectos de la alteración antrópica sobre la diversidad de las comunidades de líquenes y briófitos en los bosques secos del sur del Ecuador

Abstract

Forests alteration of dry forests has a negative effect on epiphytic diversity of lichens and bryophytes, which are sensitive to environmental changes. Therefore, these organisms have been widely used as indicators of environment changes related with forests disturbance. We analyzed changes in diversity related with forests disturbance in La Ceiba Reserve (Loja Province). We selected four forests with two types of management (dense forest and semidense forest). In each forests, we registered presence/absence and coverage of species using rubber band method in 93 trees. We recordered forty-five species of non-vascular epiphytes (38 lichens and 7 bryophytes). We analyzed changes in richness and composition of epiphytic communities with GLMM and multivariate analysis (NMDS and PERMANOVA). We found changes in bryophyte and lichen communities related with forests dirturbance. In addition, ISA analysis showed that Physcia endoncrisia and Phyllopeltula septae were indicator species for semi-dense forest and Coccocarpia palmicola, Punctelia borrerii and Parmotrema tinctorum (Delise ex Nyl). Hale., for dense forest. In the Checklist we included a total of 157 epiphytic species, distributed in lichens (128), mosses (14), hepatic (7), bromelias (5), ferns (2) and anthocero with one species, thus epiphytes in dry forests were dominated by lichens communities. Forests disturbance decreased cryptogams diversity (lichens and bryophytes) on dry forests of La Ceiba Reserve.