Liverworts of peatlands and tepualia stipularis (hook. and amp; arn.) griseb. swamp forests in isla grande de chiloé (chile): key for identification

Abstract

Bryophytes play a key role in peatland ecosystems; they participate directly in the constitution of peat and in the maintenance of these ecosystems. Nevertheless, the knowledge of this group is highly limited, specifically for liverworts. Therefore, we present a key to determine liverworts, restricted to peatland habitats and swamp forests of Tepualia stipularis (Hook. and amp; Arn.) Griseb. of Isla Grande de Chiloé (Chile). This key includes the main reported taxa for these ecosystems and it is based on vegetative characters to facilitate identification. Fifty-two species and 28 genera are included. These taxa belong to 19 families. The best represented families are: Lepidoziaceae, Lophocoleaceae, Plagiochilaceae, and Aneuraceae. Chiloscyphus, Plagiochila, and Riccardia are the richest genera. A separate key for each group with similar characters and alphabetical taxa list are provided