| Based on data from the ECOANDES project, a phytogeographical analysis has been made of the bryophyte flora along the wet, foggy western slope (1000-4500 m) and the drier eastern slope (500-4500 m) of the Colombian Central Cordillera at the ‘Parque de los Nevados’. Species richness increases with altitude to the upper montane forest, which holds the largest diversity. Liverworts outnumber mosses in the upper submontane and montane forests on the western slope, but elsewhere, in drier environments, their number is lower and falls to below that of mosses. Furthermore, it appears that at lower altitudes, below 3000 m, wide-ranging tropical species prevail whereas narrowranging tropical species (andean and endemic element) and species of temperate origin are... |
