The article reveals that epiphytic and epixylic bryophytes could be successfully used as differentials in classification of forest communities together with vascular plants epigeic cryptogams, the fact proved for broadleaved forests European Russia.

Climate change in the (Sub)Arctic is expected to be more extreme and rapid compared to other regions on Earth. At these northern latitudes, cryptogams (bryophytes and lichens) are the dominant vegetation component both in terms of abundance and biodiversity, fulfilling important ecosystem functions such as regulation of hydrology, carbon balance, nitrogen fixation and preservation of permafrost...

Lichens, fungi, and bryophytes are frequently referred to as lower plants, non-vascular plants, or cryptogams. All terms are partially incorrect but used for convenience. Strictly speaking only bryophytes are plants. Although lacking conductive tissues, they are photosynthetic. Fungi are not photosynthetic, typically penetrating their substrate as threads of cells. Lichens are fungi in close as...

Vascular and nonvascular plants are affected by environmental factors determining their distribution shaping diversity cover. Despite the cryptogam commonness in Arctic communities, previous studies have often focused on limited number of impact only selected species vascular or cryptogams. Our study aimed to investigate detail differences cover cryptogams glacier forelands mature tundra Svalba...

Herbivore effects on diversity and succession were often studied in plants, but not in cryptogams. Besides direct herbivore effects on cryptogams, we expected indirect effects by changes in competitive interactions among cryptogams. Therefore, we conducted a long-term gastropod exclusion experiment testing for grazing effects on epiphytic cryptogam communities. We estimated the grazing damage, ...

Among the disturbances affecting terrestrial ecosystems, fire is one of most important in Monte ecoregion Argentina. In foothills, recurrent fires generate changes composition vegetation and physiognomy landscape, without knowledge effects on cryptogams. Cryptogams include biological soil crusts (BSC), corticolous saxicolous lichens, mosses. These communities are crucial degraded ecosystems ari...

BACKGROUND Recent decades have seen a major surge in the study of interspecific variation in functional traits in comparative plant ecology, as a tool to understanding and predicting ecosystem functions and their responses to environmental change. However, this research has been biased almost exclusively towards vascular plants. Very little is known about the role and applicability of functiona...