Bryophytes of Bolivia
Steven P. Churchill (MO & USZ)
Claudia Aldana M. (LPB)
Eliana Calzadilla (USZ)
Ivan Linneo (USZ)
This web site is devoted to the diversity and distribution of Bolivian bryophytes. There are presently recorded for the country 1424 species. The estimated number for the three major bryophyte groups is: hepatics with 35 families, 109 genera and 478 species; hornworts with 2 families, 3 genera and 4 species; and mosses with 70 families, 280 genera and 942 species. A more precise estimate of Bolivian bryophyte diversity will require greater studies both in the field and herbarium.
Our present effort involves the preparation of a taxonomic treatment of the mosses. The current level of moss diversity for Bolivian accounts for approximately 10% of the estimated number for the world, and approximately 65% recorded for the tropical Andes. In an effort to provide a more complete knowledge of Bolivian bryophytes a checklist is provided for the hepatics and hornworts (see link below) that records 438 species distributed among 110 genera and 37 families; our current estimate is 478 species, 109 genera and 35 families; this checklist now requires updating with the figures given above.
Efforts presently under way include several facets related to Bolivian bryophytes. This encompasses continued fieldwork, characterization of the bryophyte diversity and composition of the major ecoregions, data basing collections, and for mosses preparation of descriptions and illustrations.
Political map of Bolivia. Courtesy of FAN (Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza) of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Principle Objectives of the Bolivian Moss Project
Inventory
The primary focus of future fieldwork will be on core areas of the major vegetation types (12). This has a dual purpose of obtaining data to aid in characterizing which bryophytes are found in a particular vegetation type, and selecting areas within a particular vegetation type that are unexplored or that have been inadequately sampled.
Data Basing
There are now more than 20,500 bryophyte collections presently data based in TROPICOS that can be accessed over the Internet. This represents a substantial increase in available data to the scientific community; prior to the year 2001 there were somewhat less than 2000 collections in TROPICOS. All bryophyte collections at the Herbario Nacional de Bolivia in La Paz (LPB) have been databased. This phase of the data basing was completed in 2007. All collections at LPB have now been repacketed. The next phase will involve processing the backlog of several thousand unnamed Marko Lewis collections. Approximately half of this unnamed backlog lacked label information (we now have the collection data kindly provided recently by Marko); the remaining half of these collections contained labels. Identifying these collections will be the greater task, in addition to processing and data basing. Future efforts, identifying the Lewis collections and continued fieldwork, will more than double the number of collections that will be available on the Internet, providing a wealth of information on the ecology and distribution of Bolivian bryophytes.
Taxonomic Treatment of the Mosses
The intial product of our project is the preparation of Guia Illustrada de Familias y Generos de Musgos de Bolivia. The primary future product, as noted above, is a floristic treatment entitled Musgos de Bolivia. This final product will be an illustrated, concise treatment of the Bolivian mosses in Spanish. Both descriptions and illustrations will be incorporated within the larger framework of the Mosses of the Tropical Andes that is already accessible over the Internet. This web site project page, Bryophytes of Bolivia, will also contain the illustrations and descriptions in English.
Characterization of Bryophytes in the Ecoregions
One of the secondary objective is to ascertain the composition and diversity of each of the ecoregions recognized within Bolivia with regard to bryophytes. An initial classification differentiating seven vegetation types will be employed.
Map of Montane Forest (Yungas and Tucuman-Bolivian) in Bolivia represented by the distribution of Plagiomnium rhynchophorum. From TROPICOS.
Five ecoregions (Amazon, Dry Inter-Andean Valleys, Puna, Tucuman-Bolivian and Yungas montane) of the seven recognized are reasonably complete. Greater sampling effort will be needed for the Chiquitano and Chaco.
Links
Diversidad de briofitas de Bolivia: Una vision general
Evaluacion de los musgos endemicos de Bolivia
Bryophytes of Alarachi Natural Reserve, Department of Tarija, bolivia
Additions, combinations, and synonyms for the Bolivian moss flora
Bryophytes of the Tucuman-Bolivian montane forest, Bolivia
Additions to the Bolivian bryophyte flora
Catlogo preliminar de las brifitas de la regin de Madidi, Bolivia
See also link to Bolivia on the Mosses of the Tropical Andes Page under:
Collaborators. LPB: Ninel Sanjines; MUB: Maria Cano, Mayte Gallego, Juan Jimenez.
Project Illustrator: Eliana Calzadilla (USZ).
Acknowledgements. The political map is provided with permission of FAN (Fundación Amigos de la Naturaleza) of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. The project, Mosses of Bolivia, is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (DEB-0542422); a previous grant (DEB-9626747) also assisted with limited fieldwork and infrastructural development for Bolivian institutions (BOLV, HSB, LPB, USZ).
