Fernandes et al. 2015 (Article) Aechmea, Hohenbergia, Brazil

Richness and abundance of Aechmea and Hohenbergia (Bromeliaceae) in forest fragments and shade cocoa plantations in two contrasting landscapes in Southern Bahia, Brazil

Author(s):—V. Fernandes, J. Assis Bomfim, T. Fontoura & E. Cazetta

Publication:—Tropical Conservation, Science 8: 58–75. (2015)

Abstract:—The intensification of agricultural activity can have profound impacts on biodiversity. We evaluated the influence of the landscape’s percentage of forest cover and shaded cocoa plantations on the community of zoochorous bromeliads in southern Bahia, Brazil. We selectedtwo contrasting landscapes, one dominated by Atlantic tropical rainforest and the other by traditional cocoa plantations. In each landscapewe sampled three forest fragments and three areas of cocoa plantation, where we conducted a survey of epiphytic bromeliads of the genera Aechmea and Hohenbergia in eight plots of 400 m 2 in each area. The number of trees differed between landscapes and habitats, and washigher in forest fragments than in shade cocoa plantations, but the number of phorophytes was similar between landscapes and habitats.Highest richness of Aechmea and Hohenbergia species was found in forest fragments in landscapes where forests are predominant. Contraryto expectations, the richness in the other areas was relatively low, and extremely low in the landscape dominated by cocoa plantations,ranging from zero to four species per fragment. Bromeliad abundance was not different among landscapes and habitats, but the shadecocoa plantations located in predominant agroforest landscape showed the higher number of stands. Moreover, the species found in thecocoa plantations were more drought-tolerant species. These results suggest that the conservation of species of these genera depends onfactors such as the conservation status of each forest fragment and the microclimatic alterations in the habitats, and not only on thepercentage of forest in the landscape per se

Keywords:—Atlantic Forest, Anthropogenic disturbances, Bromeliads, Forest Cover