Epífitas em Dicksonia sellowiana Hook. (Dicksoniaceae) e avaliação da influência fluvial e altitudinal em áreas protegidas, em Reserva do Iguaçu, Paraná

Abstract

With great ecological importance, epiphytes are plants that develop on other plants without parasitism, and can be used as indicators of successional stage and atmospheric pollution. In this setting, the objective of this work was to survey the epiphyte species in the Dicksonia sellowiana phorophyte (Dicksoniaceae), in the Francisco Paschoetto and Corredor das Águas Conservation Units, in the municipality of Reserva do Iguaçu, Paraná, verifying the influence of altitude and the proximity to water bodies in the distribution and coverage of epiphytes in the phorophytes. For this, the usual herborization procedures in floristic surveys were followed. The registered plants were evaluated in relation to their occurrence in the phorophyte and their relationship with altitude and proximity to a water body, through linear regression and correlation. 116 individuals of Dicksonia sellowiana were evaluated and 18 species of epiphytes were registered, distributed in 15 families, the most frequent being Polyphlebium angustatum, which occurred in 84.48% of the 116 phorophytes. There were no large discrepancies between the percentage of coverage and the distribution of epiphytes in the phorophytes. It was possible to observe insignificant values between the parameters proximity to wetland, height of the phorophyte, diameter at breast height, altitude and percentage of epiphyte coverage per phorophyte. The low ratios between the factors are possibly due to the different characteristics of the phorophytes, epiphytes and plant exploitation that previously took place at the site. Even so, it is essential to protect phorophytes, as they are centers for the dissemination of epiphytes and important agents in the biodiversity of the Conservation Units.