Aim Considering the importance of microclimate in maintaining the diversity of epiphytic bryophytes, we investigated epiphytic bryophytes along an elevational gradient in the subtropical forest of eastern China to unravel the diversity patterns of epiphytic liverworts and mosses along the elevational gradients and the roles of forest microclimates, topographic variables and host plant composition attributes in shaping these el...

Aim Greenland is among the most rapidly changing regions on Earth, with climate change having a profound impact on its terrestrial ecosystems. Here, moss‐associated diatoms hold great potential as sensitive biological indicators to monitor responses to climate change, but their diversity, community structure and biogeography remain virtually unexplored. Our study, thus, aims to (1) explore the diversity and community structure...

Aim Why some species exhibit larger geographical ranges than others remains a fundamental, but largely unanswered, question in ecology and biogeography. In plants, a relationship between range size and mating system was proposed over a century ago and subsequently formalized in Baker's Law. Here, we take advantage of the extensive variation in sexual systems of liverworts to test the hypothesis that dioecious species compensat...

Aim Epiphytic bryophyte communities of tropical forests show a gradient in species composition from the base to the top of the host trees, indicating a strong role of niche assembly. This pattern, however, has never been tested at a regional scale. The aim of this study was to test whether niche assembly, rather than dispersal limitation, predominantly drives species composition of bryophyte communities across large spatial sc...

Aim To document the elevational pattern of epiphyte species richness at the local scale in the tropical Andes with a consistent methodology. Location The northern Bolivian Andes at 350–4000 m above sea level. Methods We surveyed epiphytic vascular plant assemblages in humid forests in (a) single trees located in (b) 90 subplots of 400 m 2 each located in (c) 14 plots of 1 ha each. The plots were separated by 100–800 m along th...

Aim Central America is a biogeographically interesting area because of its location between the rich and very different biota of North and South America. We aim to assess phytogeographical patterns in the bryophyte floras of oak forests and páramo of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Location Tropical America, in particular the montane area of Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Methods The analysis is based on a new c...

Aim A comparison of biodiversity patterns within Malesia in relation to surface area. Location Analysis of the patterns in species richness and endemism of vascular plants in the five major Malesian islands, i.e. Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, Borneo and New Guinea. Methods Available data on species richness and species ranges in correlation with the surface area of the respective islands were examined in this work. Estimations of t...