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Forest Ecology pp 87–99Cite as

Non-woody life-form contribution to vascular plant species richness in a tropical American forest

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Abstract

We provide total vascular plant species counts for three 1-ha plots in deciduous, semi-deciduous and evergreen forests in central Bolivia. Species richness ranged from 297 species and 22,360 individuals/ha in the dry deciduous forest to 382 species and 31,670 individuals/ha in the evergreen forest. Orchidaceae, Pteridophyta and Leguminosae were among the most species-rich major plant groups in each plot, and Peperomia (Piperaceae), Pleurothallis (Orchidaceae) and Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae), all epiphytes, were the most species-rich genera. This dominance of a few but very diverse and/or widespread taxa contrasted with the low compositional similarity between plots. In a neotropical context, these Central Bolivian forest plots are similar in total species richness to other dry deciduous and humid montane forests, but less rich than most Amazonian forests. Nevertheless, lianas, terrestrial herbs and especially epiphytes proved to be of equal or higher species richness than most other neotropical forest inventories from which data are available. We therefore highlight the importance of non-woody life-forms (especially epiphytes and terrestrial herbs) in Andean foothill forest ecosystems in terms of species richness and numbers of individuals, representing in some cases nearly 50% of the species and more than 75% of the individuals. These figures stress the need for an increased inventory effort on non-woody plant groups in order to accurately direct conservation actions.

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Author notes

  1. Jasmin Lendzion

    Present address: Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Grimmer Str. 88, 17487, Greifswald, Germany

  2. Michael Kessler

    Present address: Institute of Systematic Botany, University of Zürich, Zollikerstrasse 107, 8008, Zurich, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Systematic Botany, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Reynaldo Linares-Palomino & Michael Kessler

  2. Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Casilla 10077, La Paz, Bolivia

    Victor Cardona

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    Ernest I. Hennig

  4. Plant Ecology, University of Halle – Wittenberg, Am Kirchtor 1, 06108, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Isabell Hensen & Doreen Hoffmann

  5. Department of Plant Ecology and Ecosystem Research, Albrecht-von-Haller-Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Göttingen, Untere Karspüle 2, 37073, Göttingen, Germany

    Jasmin Lendzion

  6. Herbario del Oriente Boliviano, Museo Noel Kempff Mercado, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

    Daniel Soto

  7. Asociación Armonía − BirdLife International, Casilla 3566, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia

    Sebastian K. Herzog

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  1. Reynaldo Linares-Palomino
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  2. Victor Cardona
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Correspondence to Reynaldo Linares-Palomino .

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  1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, 141 Bessey Hall, 50011-1020, Ames, IA, USA

    A. G. Van der Valk

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Linares-Palomino, R. et al. (2008). Non-woody life-form contribution to vascular plant species richness in a tropical American forest. In: Van der Valk, A.G. (eds) Forest Ecology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2795-5_8

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