Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

The shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiver sity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxo nomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world’s known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world’s most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend be yond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still un equally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the coun try. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora.Fil: Gomes da Silva, Janaina. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro: Rio de Janeiro, BrasilFil: Filardi, Fabiana L.R. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Barbosa, María Regina de V. Universidade Federal da Paraíba: Joao Pessoa; BrasilFil: Baumgratz, José Fernando Andrade. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: de Mattos Bicudo, Carlos Eduardo. Instituto de Botânica. Núcleo de Pesquisa em Ecologia; BrasilFil: Cavalcanti, Taciana. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária Recursos Genéticos e Biotecnologia; BrasilFil: Coelho, Marcus. Prefeitura Municipal de Campinas; BrasilFil: Ferreira da Costa, Andrea. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Museu Nacional. Department of Botany; BrasilFil: Costa, Denise. Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botanico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Dalcin, Eduardo C. Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden Research Institute; BrasilFil: Labiak, Paulo. Universidade Federal do Parana; BrasilFil: Cavalcante de Lima, Haroldo. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Lohmann, Lucia. Universidade de São Paulo; BrasilFil: Maia, Leonor. Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; BrasilFil: Mansano, Vidal de Freitas. Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Menezes, Mariângela. Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Museu Nacional. Department of Botany; BrasilFil: Morim, Marli. Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Moura, Carlos Wallace do Nascimento. Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana. Department of Biological Science; BrasilFil: Lughadha, Eimear NIck. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino UnidoFil: Peralta, Denilson. Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais; BrazilFil: Prado, Jefferson. Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais; BrasilFil: Roque, Nádia. Universidade Federal da Bahia; BrasilFil: Stehmann, Joao. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: da Silva Sylvestre, Lana. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Trierveiler-Pereira, Larissa. Universidade Estadual de Maringá. Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Biomedicina; BrasilFil: Walter, Bruno Machado Teles. EMBRAPA Cenargen Brasília; BrasilFil: Zimbrão, Geraldo. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Forzza, Rafaela C. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Morales, Matías. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Recursos Biológicos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Morón. Facultad de Agronomía y Ciencias Agroalimentarias; Argentin

Novas ocorr\ueancias de bri\uf3fitas para os estados de Alagoas e Sergipe, Brasil

Volume: 64Start Page: 287End Page: 29

Bryophytes diversity in Brazil

Abstract The bryoflora of Brazil comprises 1,524 species, 117 families, and 413 genera (11 hornworts, 633 liverworts, and 880 mosses). The most diverse families of liverworts are: Lejeuneaceae (285 species), Lepidoziaceae (48), Frullaniaceae (37), Ricciaceae (36), Plagiochilaceae (27), Radulaceae and Metzgeriaceae (26 each), Lophocoleaceae (18), Aneuraceae (15), and Calypogeiaceae (13); while, for the mosses, we have: Sphagnaceae (83 species), Fissidentaceae (65) Pottiaceae (63), Dicranaceae (54), Bryaceae and Sematophyllaceae (53 each), Orthotrichaceae and Pilotrichaceae (51 each), Calymperaceae (48), and Hypnaceae (28). These large groups account for 71% of the Brazilian bryophyte species. Lejeuneaceae and Sphagnaceae are the families with highest number of endemic taxa (54 and 60 species). The Atlantic Rainforest presents the greatest number of species (1,337), followed by the Amazon Rainforest (570) and Cerrado (478). The highest number of endemic species (242) is associated with the Atlantic Rainforest, where the Dense Ombrophilous Forest concentrates 73% of the species with 62% endemism. The Southeastern region is the most diverse in number of species (1,228) and with more endemism (219). Most endangered species are restricted to the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil, which is the diversity and endemism centre for mosses and liverworts. The information currently presented by the Brazilian List is close to the real bryophyte diversity found in the country

Towards a monophyletic classification of Lejeuneaceae II: subtribes Pycnolejeuneinae and Xylolejeuneinae subtr. nov., transfer of Otolejeunea to Lepidolejeuninae, and generic refinements

Heinrichs, Jochen, Dong, Shanshan, Schäfer-Verwimp, Alfons, Peralta, Denilson F., Feldberg, Kathrin, Schmidt, Alexander R., Schneider, Harald (2014): Towards a monophyletic classification of Lejeuneaceae II: subtribes Pycnolejeuneinae and Xylolejeuneinae subtr. nov., transfer of Otolejeunea to Lepidolejeuninae, and generic refinements. Phytotaxa 163 (2): 61-76, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.163.2.1, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.163.2.

Crown Group Lejeuneaceae and Pleurocarpous Mosses in Early Eocene (Ypresian) Indian Amber.

Cambay amber originates from the warmest period of the Eocene, which is also well known for the appearance of early angiosperm-dominated megathermal forests. The humid climate of these forests may have triggered the evolution of epiphytic lineages of bryophytes; however, early Eocene fossils of bryophytes are rare. Here, we present evidence for lejeuneoid liverworts and pleurocarpous mosses in Cambay amber. The preserved morphology of the moss fossil is inconclusive for a detailed taxonomic treatment. The liverwort fossil is, however, distinctive; its zig-zagged stems, suberect complicate-bilobed leaves, large leaf lobules, and small, deeply bifid underleaves suggest a member of Lejeuneaceae subtribe Lejeuneinae (Harpalejeunea, Lejeunea, Microlejeunea). We tested alternative classification possibilities by conducting divergence time estimates based on DNA sequence variation of Lejeuneinae using the age of the fossil for corresponding age constraints. Consideration of the fossil as a stem group member of Microlejeunea or Lejeunea resulted in an Eocene to Late Cretaceous age of the Lejeuneinae crown group. This reconstruction is in good accordance with published divergence time estimates generated without the newly presented fossil evidence. Balancing available evidence, we describe the liverwort fossil as the extinct species Microlejeunea nyiahae, representing the oldest crown group fossil of Lejeuneaceae

Reconstruction of <i>Microlejeunea nyiahae</i> based on the holotype and accompanying gametophytes.

<p>(A-F) Portions of sterile shoots in ventral view. (G-H) Portion of stem with a leaf in ventral view showing the large leaf lobule (dotted cells) and the lobe. (I) Median leaf lobe cells in top view. (J, L) Portion of shoot in ventral view with deeply bifid underleaf. (K) Free margin of leaf lobule showing hyaline papilla cell (gray) next to apical lobule tooth.</p

Results from the different divergence time estimates of Lejeuneinae.

<p>Age estimates are given as mean plus 95% confidence interval.</p

<i>Microlejeunea nyiahae</i> sp. nov. (AMNH-Tad-441-A) from Eocene Cambay amber.

<p>(A-F) Gametophytes; (G) Portion of the shoot depicted in (B); the arrowhead points to the underleaf that is enlarged in (H). (H, I) Deeply bifid underleaves (encircled). The gametophyte fragment shown in B and G represents the holotype. Scale bars 50 μm (A-G) and 10 μm (H,I).</p

Cambay amber specimen AMNH-Tad-441-A.

<p>(A) Overview showing liverwort and moss inclusions as well as two dipterans. The arrowhead points to the holotype of <i>Microlejeunea nyiahae</i>. (B) Pleurocarpous moss. (C) Close-up showing upper portions of leaves of the moss inclusion. The prosenchymatous cells are well visible. Scale bars 1 mm (A) and 100 μm (B,C).</p