Bryoflora and landscapes of the eastern Andes of central Peru: II. Understory epiphyllous bryophyte assemblages of the Cordillera El Sira

We document the makeup of four understory epiphyllous (leaf-inhabiting) bryophyte assemblages along an elevational gradient on the eastern slopes of the Cordillera El Sira in Ucayali, Peru. Epiphylls from two lowland rainforest (250 and 350 m) and two upland cloud forest (1550 and 1800 m) sites were sampled along a transect spanning 6.8 km horizontal and 1.6 km vertical distance, with 74 epiphyllous taxa (69 liverworts and 5 mosses) identified. Change in community composition along the elevational gradient and factors affecting the diversity and distribution of understory epiphyllous bryophytes are explored using various approaches to diversity measurement and multivariate analysis.