Conserving Amazonian vascular epiphytes: evaluating protected areas and unveiling biodiversity through comprehensive species inventories

Epiphytes are an important group for studies on conservation, as they are organisms sensitive to environmental changes and can serve as strong indicators of the ecosystem’s status. To avoid anthropogenic threats and reduce environmental degradation, protected areas (PAs) have been established and become crucial for maintaining ecological processes and productive capacities of ecosystems. Using an extensive dataset of vascular epiphytes (VE) collected in Amazonia from the largest online databases (GBIF, Kew Herbarium, and Species Link) as well as from inventories (Amazon Epiphytes Network), we aimed to (1) provide the first species list and the actual richness of VE for the Amazon; (2) assess the effectiveness of Amazonian PAs for VE conservation; (3) identify the potential VE centers of richness and endemism in this biome; and (4) Identify potential gaps of conservation efficiency due to lack of PA. We found 5,598 species, 409 genera, and 52 families, of which 50% (2,788 spp.) are from Orchidaceae, 11% (639 spp.) Bromeliaceae, and each 6% (355 spp.) Araceae and Polypodiceae. Most VE species (65%) were found within PAs in Amazonia, with 43.4% (2,433 species) being exclusively recorded within PAs. Our analyses identified twelve centers of species richness (SR) and nine centers of weighted endemism (WE), most of which are situated in the Andean slope of western Amazonia at altitudes ranging from 1000 to 3000 m above sea level.