SERRA DO CURICURIARI, AMAZONAS STATE, BRAZIL: THE FIRST BRYOFLORISTIC ANALYSIS FOR A BRAZILIAN MOUNTAIN IN THE AMAZONIAN FOREST

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the richness of mosses and liverworts at Serra do Curicuriari, in the Amazonas State, Brazil. The study area and the bryophytes were collected in 1979, during a botanical expedition of the “Projeto Flora Amazônica”, in different types of vegetation. In total, 36 families, 99 genera, and 234 species were recorded (158 liverworts and 76 mosses). A considerable number of floristic novelties are reported: nine species are new records to Brazil; 31 species are new records to northern Brazil; and 14 species are new records for Amazonas State. Over 48% of the bryophytes have a Neotropical distribution, about 8% are Afro-American and Pantropical, and only 3% are endemic (five liverworts and two mosses). The results represent an increase in knowledge of the Brazilian bryoflora, being relevant for the conservation of bryophyte diversity in the Amazon Forest, and representing a contribution toward the targets of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation.