Diversity Patterns and Biomass of Epiphytic Bryophytes and Lichens Along an Altitudinal Gradient in the Northern Andes

The difficult accessibility of the canopy of tropical rainforests is probably one of the main reasons why information about the nonvascular tree crown flora is scarce. In this paper full attention is paid to the epiphytic bryophytes and lichens of 59 barks type selected canopy trees, divided over 15 sites along an altitudinal transect ranging from 1,000 to 4,130 m in the Central Cordillera, Colombia. Species-area curves indicated that sampling at each investigated site (altitude) was adequate within the restrictions imposed by the sampling method. Ordination analysis revealed that altitude as a complex ecological factor explained most of the variation in the data. Alpha and beta diversity patterns along the gradient were different for mosses, liverworts, and macrolichens