ABSTRACT Introduction. The purpose of this study was to analyse the variation in the vertical and spatial distribution of epiphytic bryophytes across four forests in the north-western Amazon. We sampled along the entire vertical gradient from tree base to upper canopy in order to answer these questions: Is there vertical zonation? Is there a relationship between composition species and geographical distance? Methods. The vertical gradient was studied in 64 phorophytes, and each phorophyte was divided into six height zones. We used Detrended Corresponded Analysis for plot ordination and Permutation Multivariate Analysis of Variance to analyse variation in species composition. The relationship between species composition and geographic distance was evaluated using a Mantel Test. We used Indicator species analysis to determine the preference of the species for each of the six height zones, and an ANOVA analysis to evaluate the significance of species richness per zone. Key results. There was a gradual differentiation of the bryophyte communities across the tree height zones. We identified 63 indicator species; the tree base had the highest number of indicator species, followed by the outer canopy. Conclusions. The strong influence of height zones on species assemblages revealed the importance of the environmental differences across the vertical gradient within a single tree. Epiphytic bryophyte communities are mainly structured according to the height zone of trees. The presence of a high percentage of indicator species across the Colombian Amazon is evidence to further support a high specificity of species for a particular microhabitat within the forest.

中文翻译：

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哥伦比亚亚马逊地区附生苔藓植物的垂直分布和多样性

摘要介绍。本研究的目的是分析亚马逊西北部四片森林中附生苔藓植物的垂直和空间分布的变化。我们沿着从树基到树冠上部的整个垂直梯度进行采样，以回答这些问题：是否存在垂直分区？组成物种和地理距离之间有关系吗？方法。研究了64个叶状植物的垂直梯度，每个叶状植物分为6个高度区。我们使用去趋势对应分析进行地块排序和排列多变量方差分析来分析物种组成的变化。物种组成和地理距离之间的关系使用 Mantel 测试进行评估。我们使用指标物种分析来确定六个高度区域中每个区域的物种偏好，并使用方差分析来评估每个区域物种丰富度的重要性。关键结果。苔藓植物群落在整个树高区逐渐分化。我们确定了 63 个指示物种；树基的指示物种数量最多，其次是外部树冠。结论。高度带对物种组合的强烈影响揭示了单棵树内垂直梯度环境差异的重要性。附生苔藓植物群落主要按乔木高度区划分。