The richness and vertical stratification of vascular epiphytes was studied in Jataí Ecological Station (EEJ), São Paulo State, Brazil. A total of 1,574 epiphytes were recorded, corresponding to 29 species, 20 genera, and seven families. Angiosperms were represented by 23 species and Pteridophytes by six species. The characteristic form, holoepiphytes, was dominant in the area (93.1%). Epiphytes specialists were most common in the area, contributing with about 55% of species (17% trunk epiphytes and 38% canopy epiphytes); generalist species contributed 42%, and hemiepiphytes, with 3%. The intermediate zones had the highest number of species and more number of records. There was a significant difference among species that comprise the lower zones and the upper zones in the host trees. The richness and distribution of epiphytes are determined by some climatic factors, but the moisture and light intensity are the most important regulatory factors in the cerrado area researched.
Ecological types; growth form; hotspots; phytosociology of epiphytes
