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The dry forests of southern Ecuador are characterized by a great floristic variety and high endemism rates in different taxonomic groups; however, these forests are disappearing at an alarming rate due to anthropogenic disturbances. Epiphytic cryptogams (bryophytes and lichens) are important in seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs) and, due to their physiology (poikilohydric species), are sensitive to the changes associated with specific human disturbances. We examined the response of epiphytic cryptogams to habitat disturbance in SDTFs (natural and semi-natural forests) by registering the frequency and coverage of epiphytic cryptogams on 182 trees. We recorded a total of 53 epiphytic cryptogams (47 lichens and 6 bryophytes). A greater number of species was found in the natural forest, with 51 species, than the semi-natural forests (DFs), which had 45 species. We found that total richness tended to decrease with increased intensity of disturbance. The impoverishment was particularly related to the reduction in tree density and diversity (e.g., selective logging) in semi-natural compared to natural forests. However, the epiphytic composition showed little relationship with forests disturbance. We conclude that anthropic disturbance, particularly selective logging, are the main factors affecting the diversity of epiphytic cryptogams in the SDTFs from southern Ecuador. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The páramos have a great diversity of flora, including terricolous non-tracheophyte photoautotrophs (bryophytes and lichens). Bryophytes and lichens are very sensitive to environmental changes related to anthropogenic fires, livestock, and agricultural activities. We determined for the first time in Ecuador the effects of prescribed fires on the pyrodiversity of terricolous non-tracheophyte photoautotroph in a páramo of South Ecuador. Three permanent sampling plots (T1, T2, and control) were established, each with a dimension of 4 m × 20 m and separated by 3 m (T1: one with fire-induced uphill and T2: one with fire-induced downhill and one control). They were installed in three different blocks, obtaining a total of nine plots. Three samplings (2, 6, and 12 months) were carried out in each plot, where the cover and richness of terricolous bryophytes and lichens were estimated in 216 quadrats of 20 × 30 cm. A total of 27 species (11 lichens and 16 bryophytes) were studied, where the lichen families, that is, Cladoniaceae and Baeomycetaceae, as well as the bryophytes families, namely, Dicranaceae, Jungermanniaceae, Bartramiaceae, Rhacocarpaceae, and Pallaviciniaceae, have been recorded as pioneers in areas under fire effects. Richness and diversity (calculated using the Shannon–Weaver and Simpson indexes) were affected by fire treatments; on the other hand, monitoring time (M3) positively affected species diversity. The composition of terrestrial non-tracheophyte photoautotroph communities showed slight changes between the control and T1 and T2, but the changes were more marked with time after the burns (M1 vs. M3), related to fire severity. Therefore, terricolous lichen and bryophyte communities (richness and diversity) can be used as model organisms for the assessment of the effects of prescribed fires on tropical páramos for subsequent management and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A checklist of Lichen-forming, Lichenicolous and Allied Fungi of Ecuador is presented with a total of 2599 species, of which 39 are reported for the first time from the country. The names of three species, Hypotrachyna montufariensis , H. subpartita and Sticta hypoglabra , previously not validly published, are validated. Pertusaria oahuensis , originally introduced by Magnusson as ' ad interim ', is validated as Lepra oahuensis. The form Leucodermia leucomelos f. albociliata is validated. Two new combinations, Fissurina tectigera and F. timida , are made, and Physcia mobergii is introduced as a replacement name for the illegitimate P. lobulata Moberg non (Flörke) Arnold. In an initial step, the checklist was compiled by reviewing literature records of Ecuadorian lichen biota spanning from the late 19th century to the present day. Subsequently, records were added based on vouchers from 56 collections participating in the Consortium of Lichen Herbaria , a Symbiota-based biodiversity platform with particular focus on, but not exclusive to, North and South America. Symbiota provides sophisticated tools to manage biodiversity data, such as occurrence records, a taxonomic thesaurus, and checklists. The thesaurus keeps track of frequently changing names, distinguishing taxa currently accepted from ones considered synonyms. The software also provides tools to create and manage checklists, with an emphasis on selecting vouchers based on occurrence records that can be verified for identification accuracy. Advantages and limitations of creating checklists in Symbiota versus traditional ways of compiling these lists are discussed. Traditional checklists are well suited to document current knowledge as a 'snapshot in time'. They are important baselines, frequently used by ecologists and conservation scientists as an established naming convention for citing species reported from a country. Compiling these lists, however, requires an immense effort, only to inadequately address the dynamic nature of scientific discovery. Traditional checklists are thus quickly out of date, particularly in groups with rapidly changing taxonomy, such as lichenized fungi. Especially in megadiverse countries, where new species and new occurrences continue to be discovered, traditional checklists are not easily updated; these lists necessarily fall short of efficiently managing immense data sets, and they rely primarily on secondary evidence (i.e. literature records rather than specimens). Ideally, best practices make use of dynamic database platforms such as Symbiota to assess occurrence records based both on literature citations and voucher specimens. Using modern data management tools comes with a learning curve. Systems like Symbiota are not necessarily intuitive and their functionality can still be improved, especially when handling literature records. However, online biodiversity data platforms have much potential in more efficiently managing and assessing large biodiversity data sets, particularly when investigating the lichen biota of megadiverse countries such as Ecuador. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The montane shrublands of southern Ecuador represent one of the least studied ecosystems, which in the last decade have been seriously threatened by increasing wildfires, deforestation, overgrazing, and conversion to forest plantations. Our main objective was to determine, at the local scale, the diversity of species composing the biological soil crust (BSC) at three elevations (2100, 2300, and 2500 m.a.s.l.) and their possible relationships with soil physical and chemical properties in montane shrublands. For this purpose, three monitoring plots of 100 m² were established at each elevation, and within each plot, 20 subplots were established (180 subplots sampled in total). In addition, composite soil samples were collected at a depth of 0 to 10 cm, and some physical and biochemical parameters (e.g., bulk density, texture, pH, organic matter, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, and potassium) of the soil were analyzed. The results show 35 species (23 lichens, 10 bryophytes and 2 cyanobacteria) at three elevations with a bell-shaped or hump-shaped distribution pattern. This allowed us to point out that the species richness was higher at the intermediate elevations and that the composition showed significant differences in the three elevations related to soil factors. Elevation and soil drivers may help to better chose the more suitable biological soil crust (lichen-dominated and bryophyte-dominated BSC) for the management and conservation of the montane scrub of Ecuador, which is strongly threatened by human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The deforestation caused by road construction is one of the main drivers for both biodiversity and function loss in tropical ecosystems. Terricolous cryptogams are pioneers in colonizing roadside and they are limited by environmental and edaphic factors, thus, cryptogams may act as pioneers for ecosystem rehabilitation at roadside. Methods This research was aimed at determining the diversity and composition of terricolous cryptogams, as well as their relationship with elevation and soil properties among roadside of the tropical Andes of Ecuador, in order to establish indicator species of this anthropized ecosystems. Five elevations were selected and in each one 50 grids of 20 ​cm ​× ​30 ​cm were sampled (250 in total along the road), where occurrence, cover and identification of every cryptogam species were recorded. To evaluate the effect of elevation and soil properties on cryptogam richness, a linear model was conducted. Species composition among elevations was compared by non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), and their relationship with the environmental variables through a correlation with adjusted axes was performed. A total of 72 species were recorded, those being 44 bryophytes and 28 lichens. Species richness and composition of terricolous cryptogams were influenced by elevation and soil properties, thus the richness is higher at elevations E1, E2 and E3 (2600, 2200 and 1800 ​m a.s.l.), differing from low elevations E4 and E5 (1400 and 1000 ​m a.s.l.). Higher elevations with specific soil conditions (e.g bulk density, nitrogen and silt) harbored different cryptogam communities than those in lower elevations. Conclusions A combination of both elevation and soil properties are shaping the colonization by terricolous cryptogams commnunities. As such, 18 species were identified as the best indicators for all sets of environmental conditions at the roadside, which can therefore be considered for monitoring ecological processes in tropical areas. Use of biocrusts for restoration is an emerging field. If implemented in the study region, elevation and soil drivers may help to better chose the more suitable cryptogam species to manage and stabilize roadside in tropical roads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocrusts are composed of diverse organisms including bryophytes, lichens, archaea, bacteria, cyanobacteria, microfungi, and green algae. While biocrusts are distributed worldwide, most of our knowledge comes from temperate regions, and scarce information is available from tropical regions. We aimed to: i) generate the first map of potential areas of occurrence of biocrust in Ecuador, ii) describe the structure of biocrust components along an elevation gradient predicted by our map analysis to support biocrusts. Our maps identified 9145 km 2 as potential area for the occurrence of biocrusts, which represents 18% of Ecuadorian drylands. Our study site was located in mountain shrubland in southeastern Ecuador. Species richness increased with elevation and species composition was significantly different among elevation levels. The abundance of species forming biocrusts was related to several soil variables, including pH and fine texture. Our results provide insights into the importance of soil variables as drivers of biocrust composition and abundance in the tropics. Moreover, the information generated in this study could be useful in assigning conservation priorities to Ecuadorian drylands. Thus, our results help fill current gaps in our knowledge of biocrusts and add to the scant literature dealing with these organisms in tropical drylands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution is one of the main environmental problems in developed and developing countries. Epiphytic cryptogams (bryophytes and lichens) are proposed as a reliable indicator to detect environmental changes, given to their sensitivity to pollutants. In this study we evaluated air quality in the city of Ambato using bryophytes and epiphytic lichens on three land uses (urban, peri-urban and control). In each zone we selected ten trees (a total of 90 trees) for each station (a total of nine stations), where we recorded the frequency and cover of epiphytic cryptogams in a quadrat of 10 × 50 cm that was divided into 5 × 5 cm squares. Differences in richness, index of atmospheric purity (IAP) and diversity were analyzed using a generalized linear model (GLM) and changes in species composition using multivariate analysis. We recorded 39 species of cryptogams (25 lichens and 14 bryophytes). Richness, diversity and index of atmospheric purity were higher in the control zone compared to the urbanized zones. Community composition changed between the different zones, with increasing differences between the control and urban zones. The urban areas of the city of Ambato were identified with high levels of air pollution due to their lower diversity related to higher vehicular traffic and industrial activities (e.g., footwear and textile factories, tanneries). Thus, epiphytic cryptogams are a fast and low-cost method for air quality assessment in tropical areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transformation of natural ecosystems due to anthropogenic land use is considered one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. Lichens, due to their poikilohydric nature, are very sensitive to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Therefore, lichen communities have been widely used as bioindicators of climatic and environmental changes. In this study, we evaluated how the species richness and community composition of epiphytic lichens respond to land-use intensity in riparian ecosystems of the Andes in southern Ecuador. Additionally, we evaluate how the richness of six functional traits (photobiont type, growth form, and reproductive strategy) changed across the different land-use intensity. We selected 10 trees in twelve sites for a total de 120 trees, equally divided into four riparian land-use intensities (forest, forest-pasture, pasture and urban). We recorded a total of 140 lichen species. Species richness was highest in the forest sites and decreased towards more anthropogenic land uses. Lichen community composition responded to land-use intensity, and was explained by microclimate variables (e.g., precipitation, percentage forested area) and distance to the forest. Richness of functional traits of lichens also differed significantly among the four land-use intensity and decreased from forests to urban land-use. Taxonomic diversity and functional traits can be effectively applied as bioindicators to assess and monitor the effects of land-use changes in the riparian ecosystems of tropical montane regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Epiphytic cryptogams were significantly affected by succession in Amazonian forests. • Tree species richness is a key driver for cryptogamic epiphytes in Amazonian rain forests. • The late successional forests are essential for conservation of epiphytic cryptogams. The Amazonian rain forests of Yasuni National Park, Ecuador (YNP), count among the world's forests regions with highest biodiversity, but are strongly threatened by deforestation. Cryptogams (bryophytes and lichens) are common and characteristic organisms in these forests, are sensitive to environmental changes, and are considered effective ecological indicators. The objective of this study was to explore the response of epiphytic cryptogams to forest succession in the Amazonian forests of YNP. We hypothesized that alteration of structural and micro-environmental characteristics of the forest, including reduction of canopy cover and lowering of tree species richness, lead to a reduction of species richness and changes in species composition of epiphytic cryptogams. We assessed species richness and composition of cryptogams on the bases of 442 trees in three stage of forest succession (early, intermediate, late), using generalized linear mixed models, multivariate analysis, beta diversity components and Mantel test. We registered 146 species of cryptogams, including 50 of lichens and 96 of bryophytes (39 mosses, 57 liverworts). Diversity of epiphytic cryptogams was highest in late succession forest, and lowest in early succession forest. Major changes in species richness and composition correlated with changes in canopy openness relative to the shift from early to late stages of forest succession. The results demonstrate for the first time the importance of tree species richness for cryptogamic epiphyte richness in Amazonian rain forests. Maintenance of high tree species diversity and structural heterogeneity in late succession forests can considerably contribute to the conservation of the cryptogamic epiphytes of Amazonian rain forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]