Efeito de comunidades epifílicas em processos ecológicos: uma avaliação de folhas a ecossistemas

Abstract

The relationship between non-parasitic organisms with their host and the functioning of the ecosystems is one of the fundamental questions of Ecology. Organisms that establish on leaf surfaces of plants in tropical forests have attracted attention since the 19th century. The phyllosphere (i.e., leaf tissue) is a habitat for bacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, lichens, and bryophytes. The understanding of the ecological role of epiphyllous in host functioning and ecosystem processes remains scarce. In the present study, we investigated some gaps in knowledge about the phyllosphere host interaction. We review studies published over the last 75 years on the phyllosphere host interaction in Chapter 1. We contemplate the different terms used to refer to the phyllosphere in a systematic review of the literature. In our search protocol, we found 3.557 articles, and only 25 were eligible for revision. We identified traits measured in articles related to photosynthesis, resource, defense, hydraulics, and ecosystem processes. In general, based on the characteristics presented in the studies, we describe the ecological role of epiphyllous. We found that studies neglected the diversity of organisms in the phyllosphere and were generally conducted in Central America. In the second chapter, we investigated whether the susceptibility of plants to cover by epiphyllous and biological nitrogen fixation in the Amazon rainforest can be modulated by traits of the host plants. Despite the premise that the traits of the host plant related to the ability to repel water can influence the susceptibility of leaves to colonization, they were not influential variables for the coverage of the phyllosphere. In general, our results suggest that foliar traits linked to water runoff may not influence the establishment of organisms in the phyllosphere. Host plants less than seven meters in height showed the most coverage of the phyllosphere. Therefore, we suggest that microclimatic characteristics may be the most important for establishing epiphyllous communities.