Resumo

ISAZA, CAROLINA  e  BETANCUR, JULIO. Relationships between biomass and morphological characters of phytotelmata bromeliads in a Colombian upper Andean forest. Caldasia [online]. 2009, vol.31, n.1, pp.1-7. ISSN 0366-5232.

Some morphological characteristics were evaluated for six bromeliad phytotelmic species (Guzmania gloriosa, Racinaea tetrantha, Tillandsia biflora, T. complanata, T. fendleri and T. turneri) to establish which of those can be used as indirect estimators of total biomass. The present study was performed in a high Andean forest of the Savanna of Bogotá, Colombia, at 2900 m. We collected between 32 and 64 individuals per species in different developmental stages. For each one we registered 1) number of leaves, 2) the basal rosette perimeter, 3) coverage, 4), leaf length 5) the height of the rosette; and 6) total biomass. According to the results, coverage was the variable most related with biomass. A curve fitting analysis showed that a straight line best explained the relationship between coverage and biomass. Thus, the equation allows estimating biomass from coverage without the destructive sampling effect.

Palavras-chave : Andes; Biomass; Bromeliaceae; Colombia; Epiphytes; Morphometry; Phytotelmata.

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