Richness and Abundance of Aechmea and Hohenbergia (Bromeliaceae) in Forest Fragments and Shade Cocoa Plantations in Two Contrasting Landscapes in Southern Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

The intensification of agricultural activity can have profound impacts on biodiversity. We evaluated the influence of the landscape's percentage of forest cover and shaded cocoa plantations on the community of zoochorous bromeliads in southern Bahia, Brazil. We selected two contrasting landscapes, one dominated by Atlantic tropical rainforest and the other by traditional cocoa plantations. In each landscape we sampled three forest fragments and three areas of cocoa plantation, where we conducted a survey of epiphytic bromeliads of the genera Aechmea and Hohenbergia in eight plots of 400 m 2 in each area. The number of trees differed between landscapes and habitats, and was higher in forest fragments than in shade cocoa plantations, but the number of phorophytes was similar between landscapes and habitats. Highest richness of Aechmea and Hohenbergia species was found in forest fragments in landscapes where forests are predominant. Contrary to expectations, the richness in the other areas was relatively low, and extremely low in the landscape dominated by cocoa plantations, ranging from zero to four species per fragment. Bromeliad abundance was not different among landscapes and habitats, but the shade cocoa plantations located in predominant agroforest landscape showed the higher number of stands. Moreover, the species found in the cocoa plantations were more drought-tolerant species. These results suggest that the conservation of species of these genera depends on factors such as the conservation status of each forest fragment and the microclimatic alterations in the habitats, and not only on the percentage of forest in the landscape per se.

Disentangling the factors that shape bromeliad and ant communities in the canopies of cocoa agroforestry and preserved Atlantic Forest

“…Leontopithecus chrysomelas feed on fruits of Aechmea depressa, and this interaction has been recorded on trees shading cacao plantations (Fontoura et al, 2010). Frugivory in the genus Hohenbergia, another abundant bromeliad in our sample, has not been described, but it is likely that they are mainly dispersed by birds based on the type and size of its infructescence (Souza et al, 2015). Birds of the species Tangara seledon (Statius Muller 1776, the greenheaded tanager, have been observed visiting and feeding on the fruits of Hohenbergia blanchetii, which are abundant in the canopy of shading trees (WDR, personal observation).…”

“…Moreover, the structural complexity associated with habitat size and more available nest sites is related to an increase in the ant species richness in the higher strata of tropical forests (Mottl et al, 2020). The bromeliad genera Aechmea and Hohenbergia, in addition to being the most frequent in the canopy of the studied region (Souza et al, 2015) were, for the most part, the genera with the largest individual bromeliads sampled.…”

“…The local fauna may play an important role in dispersing these bromeliads among trees in our study area. In addition, the bromeliad genera Aechmea and Hohenbergia are resistant to high light conditions and are tolerant of high temperatures (Souza et al, 2015). Thus, the combination of fauna that dispersed their seeds and eco-physiological resistance to harsh conditions likely leads to high abundances of Aechmea and Hohenbergia.…”

Complex consequences of disturbance on canopy plant communities of world forests: a review and synthesis

“…In Mexican cacao plantations, for example, orchid diversity was higher in rainforest areas (19 species) than in cacao plantations (11 species), with only seven species in common (Morales‐Linares et al ., 2020). In other cacao agroforests (Sulawasi, Ariyanti et al ., 2008; Brazil, Haro‐Carrion et al ., 2009; Souza et al ., 2015), drought‐tolerant species replaced drought‐sensitive species. A similar pattern of diversity loss resulted from conversion to oil palm (plantations Elaeis guineensis ), where epiphytic orchids and other specialized forest species were absent from those monocultures (Danielsen et al ., 2009).…”

Evaluating Landscape Suitability for Golden-Headed Lion Tamarins (Leontopithecus Chrysomelas) and Wied's Black Tufted-Ear Marmosets (Callithrix Kuhlii) in the Bahian Atlantic Forest

“…It has been a long-standing enigma for lion tamarin biologists, as the region contains forest types thought to be good habitat for GHLTs [15,19–21,44]. Additionally, researchers recently identified a high density of Aechmea and Hohenbergia bromeliads in this region [45], known to be important resources for GHLTs [21,46,47]. However, despite seemingly ideal habitat, our models indicate GHLT presence may be limited in the northeast by certain climatic factors.…”