ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Orchidaceae no Parque Estadual da Cantareira e sua conservação. Orchidaceae in the Cantareira State Park and its conservation.

O Parque Estadual da Cantareira – PEC abriga uma das maiores florestas urbanas do mundo, declarada parte da Reserva da Biosfera do Cinturão Verde de São Paulo. A família Orchidaceae tem grande apelo ornamental e econômico, aspecto importante para a sensibilização de todos sobre a responsabilidade em conservar nossas espécies nativas e seus habitats. O presente trabalho visou, sobretudo, ao levantamento da família Orchidaceae no PEC. Para tal, foram realizadas coletas semanais, entre agosto de 2008 e fevereiro de 2014, utilizando o método da caminhada, tendo como base o mapa de fitofisionomias do PEC. A coleta de material botânico priorizou o resgate de plantas vivas em árvores e galhos caídos, sendo que as plantas foram incluídas em coleções vivas do Instituto de Botânica de São Paulo – IBt e PEC para acompanhamento da floração, herborização, documentação fotográfica e identificação. As plantas foram identificadas com base no material vivo utilizando-se da diagnose floral para determinação da espécie, as exsicatas foram tombadas no herbário do Instituto Florestal – SPSF. As demais plantas resgatadas, após identificação, foram realocadas no habitat e são também utilizadas em atividades educativas. Até o momento foram levantadas 159 espécies, de 64 gêneros, entre elas 10 espécies presentes em listas vermelhas, e outras dificilmente encontradas, o que coloca o PEC como detentor de maior riqueza de Orchidaceae da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo em comparação com outros levantamentos. Das 159 espécies registradas, 105 foram resgatadas, totalizando 3.120 indivíduos, dos quais 450 foram incluídos em coleções do IBt e PEC, e o restante realocado no habitat para observações e estudos futuros. Atividades com visitantes do PEC indicam que a utilização de orquídeas como tema para educação é bastante promissor. – The Cantareira State Park (Parque Estadual da Cantareira – PEC), declared part of the São Paulo Green Belt Biosphere Reserve, houses one of the largest urban forest in the world. The local Orchidaceae family has great ornamental and economic appeal, which is an important feature to raise the collective awareness and responsibility about the preservation of the native species and their habitat. The present study aimed, above all, to assess the Orchidaceae family within the PEC. Samples were taken weekley between August 2008 and February 2014 for this purpose using the walking method, based on the the PEC phytophysiognomies map. The collection of botanical material focused on the rescue of live plants that grow on trees and on fallen branches, and the plants were included subsequently in living collections of the Botanical Institute of São Paulo (IBt) and PEC for photographic documentation and identification as well as the monitoring of flowering and herborization.The samples were identified based on living material, using the floral diagnosis to determine the species, and then exsiccated in the herbarium of the Forest Institute – SPSF. Other plants redeemed were relocated in the environment after identification and were also used in educational activities. One hundred fifty-nine species have been identified so far, 64 of them belong to different genera, 10 species are in red lists, and others are hardly ever found, which makes the Cantareira State Park the home to the greatest diversity of Orchidaceae in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region, compared to other surveys. Of the 159 species recorded, 105 were rescued, totaling 3,120 individuals. Four hundred fifty of them have been included both in the collections of the park as well as the Botanical Institute’s, the remaining have been relocated in the environment for future studies and observations. The use of orchids as the theme for educational activities with the visitors to the Cantareira State Park proved to be very promising