Vertical variation in epiphytic cryptogam species richness and composition in a primeval Fagus sylvatica forest

Abstract

Abstract Question Biodiversity surveys of epiphytic bryophytes and lichens on standing trees are mostly restricted to the lowermost 2 m, since sampling above this level is time‐consuming and therefore expensive. However, sampling only the stem base is likely to result in underestimation of forest epiphyte diversity, because microclimate and physico‐chemical site conditions, both of which vary with height above the ground, play important roles for poikilohydric organisms. We investigate variation in epiphyte diversity and composition along the vertical gradient in forests and discuss factors that may potentially account for height‐dependent distribution patterns. Location Montane primeval beech forest Havešová in the Carpathians, eastern Slovakia. Methods Ten circular plots, each 500 m 2 , were selected randomly in an area severely affected by windfall. Epiphytes were sampled along the stems of recently uprooted trees, from base to the canopy. Mean Ellenberg indicator values ( EIV ) for light, moisture, acidity and nitrogen availability were used as surrogate variables for environmental interpretation of compositional patterns for sampling segments of 2 m along the stem. Results By sampling only the lowest 2 m, 10% of the total bryophyte and 48% of the lichen species would have been missed. We detected systematic patterns of compositional variation for both groups along the vertical gradient. While pleurocarpous mosses and liverworts were mostly restricted to the stem base, acrocarpous mosses and crustose lichens occurred along the stem almost to the top. Foliose and fruticose lichens were concentrated at intermediate heights and in the upper canopy. Patterns of variation in EIV s suggested that increasing light availability, decreasing moisture and increasing inputs of acidic and nitrous substances are responsible for the compositional shifts along the vertical gradient. Conclusions Sampling only the stem base implies severe underestimation of the epiphyte diversity in temperate broad‐leaved forests. The middle and the upper parts of tree stems have distinctive compositions of epiphytic cryptogams, because microclimate and physico‐chemical site factors vary with height above the ground.