Effect of deforestation in palm-epiphytic bryophyte communities in a cloud forest in the northern Andes

Abstract Cloud forests are one of the most diverse and yet one of the most endangered ecosystems in the tropics. Epiphytic bryophytes are extremely diverse and abundant in this ecosystem where the palms are a dominant element. Slash and burn agriculture techniques usually do not cut the palms and they remain as isolated individuals in the middle of artificial grasslands or agricultural fields. Forest clearing creates new environments on the isolated trees that have been considered a refugee for “rare” canopy species, and the relationship of these “isolated” communities with forest communities has been considered to be distant. We sampled 99 plots on 11 individuals of the palm Dictyocaryum lamarckianum for a total effective sampling area of 15.9 m2. The epiphytic communities comprised 72 liverworts and 21 mosses. Diplasiolejeunea alata and D. cavifolia are hereby reported for the first time from Colombia. We analyzed the changes in bryophyte diversity patterns between forests and man-made grasslands and ho...