Ferns and Lycophytes from fragments of semideciduous forest in central Espírito Santo, Brazil

Abstract

This study presents a checklist of lycophytes and ferns from secondary semideciduous forests in São João de Petrópolis, Santa Teresa, Espírito Santo, Brazil. We recorded 37 species (four lycophytes and 33 ferns) belonging to nine families and 17 genera. Selaginella is the only genus representing lycophytes whereas Adiantum, Anemia and Asplenium are the main representative genera for ferns. Most species are lithophytes (48.6%) or terrestrial (21.6%). Epiphytes are scarce (8.2%), and we did not record any arborescent, hemiepiphyte or scandent species. Climate seasonality, reduced size of forest fragments, and disturbance history may explain the low richness in the site. We recorded the occurrence of a regionally threatened fern species, namely, Asplenium austrobrasiliense, and revealed the first record of Asplenium otites in Espírito Santo. This demonstrates the biological relevance of semideciduous forest remnants in Espírito Santo and reinforces arguments for their effective protection.