Each Epiphyte on Its Branch: A Comparative Study between Different Phorophytes

Epiphytes are plants that use the mechanical support provided by a host tree, called phorophytes, without emitting haustorial structures. Constituting an important component of flora, playing role in maintenance ecosystems, such as water and nutrient cycling, addition to providing resources, sometimes unique, food shelter, for canopy fauna. However, epiphytic flora may show high beta diversity, even when compared with different possibly response dendromorphological characteristics phorophyte. Thus, this work aims to: 1) compare whether species richness epiphytes differs trees morphological characteristics, 2) composition among three tree species. For this, 10 individuals were selected: Guaria guidonia, Ficus sp., Roystonea oleracea. In each individual, number (richness) vascular was recorded obtained from composition. To test differences values between trees, we used analysis variance (ANOVA) followed Tukey’s test. understand epiphyte community formed separate groups according used, available non-metric multidimensional scaling method (NMDS). Thirty-four found 30 phorophytes surveyed. The showed significantly richness, highest Guarea guidonea lowest oleraceae. NMDS group into distinct groups, although sp present transitional two other results suggest influenced their characteristics.