The MOVECLIM – AZORES project: Bryophytes from Flores Island (2013)

The objective was to assess bryophyte diversity along an elevational gradient at 70 m, 200 m, 400 m, 600 m, and 800 m (a.s.l.). Bryophytes were sampled using a modified version of the standardized BRYOLAT protocol (see Ah-Peng et al., 2012; Gabriel et al., 2014), published as one of the GIMS protocols (Borges et al., 2018), considering both taxonomic and environmental data.

At each elevation, two 10 m × 10 m plots were established, spaced 10–15 meters apart. Each plot was subdivided into 25 quadrats (2 m × 2 m), from which three were randomly selected for detailed inspection. Within each selected quadrat, three microplots (10 cm × 5 cm; 50 cm²) were collected from the different substrates colonized by bryophytes, including rock, soil, humus, organic matter, tree bark, and leaves/fronds.