RT Journal Article T1 Epiphytic bryophytes in harsh environments: theJuniperus thuriferaforests A1 Medina Bujalance, Rafael A1 Francisco Lara, A1 Belén Albertos, A1 Isabel Draper, A1 Ricardo Garilleti, A1 Vicente Mazimpaka, AB The forests of Juniperus thurifera are peculiar ecosystems that typically grow on mountains and highplateaux of the western Mediterranean basin with dry and continental climates. Some previous surveys suggested that these forests house a rather distinctive epiphytic bryophyte flora. Epiphytic bryophyte communities were systematically sampled in 19 representative juniper forests, for the first time spanning all the distribution area of this conifer. The flora consists of 44 species (32 acrocarpous mosses, 10 pleurocarpous mosses and 2 liverworts). Orthotrichum species are the most frequent and abundant in most of the sampled localities, including some uncommon taxa such as Orthotrichum vittii which shows a clear association with J. thurifera. Epiphytic bryophyte communities on this species were highly homogeneous, although they can be arranged into different groups in response to environmental conditions. Typically, the epiphytic communities of the Mediterranean juniper forests comprise a distinct combination of xerophytic taxa that enhances the interest of these ecosystems and provides new fields for their research and conservation. PB Taylor and Francis online SN 0373-6687 SN 1743-2820 YR 2010 FD 2010-03-01 LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95393 UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/95393 LA eng NO This work was partly funded by the Government of Madrid Autonomous Region (Grant no. 07M/0062/2002) and the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (Projects nos. CGL 2004-03513 and CGL 2007-61389. FPU Grant no. AP-2004-0007). DS Docta Complutense RD 24 ago 2024