Mosses of Bolivia

“玻利维亚苔藓”项目的第一个目标是记录该国境内发现的极其丰富的多样性。据估计，玻利维亚(面积相当于加利福尼亚州和德克萨斯州的总面积)可能有近1000种物种，略低于北美。将准备一个描述和插图的处理，其中将包括生态，以及每个物种的地理和海拔范围。这将以以前的收集和新的实地收集为基础，这些收集针对需要进行更大清查工作的高度多样化的区域或山区和低地地区完全缺乏实地工作的地区。所有集合都将以数据为基础。数据库和图解治疗都将以英文和西班牙文在互联网上维护。最终的产品将是一份简明的出版文本。第二个目标是分析和描述玻利维亚12个主要生态区内的苔藓多样性。这将是第一次在热带安第斯山脉的背景下，研究多样性是如何在各种不同的植被类型中分布的，从潮湿到沙漠高山地区，到潮湿的山林和潮湿或干燥的低地森林。数据库和更重要的是图解处理将提供必要的工具和“关键”，以促进玻利维亚人和其他合作研究人员对该国未开发地区的植物名录感兴趣的进一步研究，以及作为玻利维亚机构研究计划一部分的定性和定量生态研究。作为热带安第斯山脉南部的第一个苔藓处理方法，这将在秘鲁和阿根廷北部缺乏此类研究的毗邻地区同样有用。该项目将通过积极参加讲习班、实地和实验室研究以及开发和实施小规模研究项目的机会，为玻利维亚学生提供培训机会。苔藓以及肝菌与它们的小体型不成比例，它们在安第斯生态系统中发挥着重要和关键的作用，特别是在山林和高山地区。这些植物形成松散或密集的垫子、丛生植物和吊坠，从降雨或雾雾中迅速吸收水分(与大多数开花植物不同)，并保持其干重的5-25%。然后这些植物逐渐将水释放到直接的环境中，从而适度的水流(确保旱季的水流)，阻止侵蚀，并帮助防止山体滑坡和洪水下坡(在雨季)。至关重要的是，我们必须通过定性和定量研究来记录这种生态作用，并确保这些生物的保护。

The "Mosses of Bolivia" project's first objective to document the extremely rich diversity found within the country. It is estimated that Bolivia (equal in size to the combined area of California and Texas) may contain nearly 1000 species, slightly less than North America. A treatment with descriptions and illustrations will be prepared which will include ecology, and the geographical and elevational range of each species. This will be based on previous collections and new field collections targeting highly diverse regions requiring greater inventory efforts or areas where there is a complete lack of field work both in the mountains and lowland regions. All collections will be data based. Both the database and illustrated treatment will be maintained on the Internet in English and Spanish. A final product will be a concise published text. The second objective is an analysis and characterization of moss diversity within the 12 major ecological regions of Bolivia. This will be the first attempt, within the context of the tropical Andes, to examine how diversity is distributed in a host of different vegetation types, from humid to desert alpine regions to humid mountain forest and wet or dry lowland forest. The database and more importantly the illustrated treatment will provide the necessary tool, the "key," to promote further studies by Bolivians and other collaborating researchers interested in floristic inventories in unexplored regions of the country, and qualitative and quantitative ecological studies that are a part of the Bolivian institutional research programs. As the first moss treatment for the southern portion of the tropical Andes, this will be equally useful in adjoining regions of Peru and northern Argentina where such studies are lacking. The project will provide the opportunity for Bolivian student training through active participation in workshops, field and laboratory studies, and opportunities to develop and implement small-scale research projects. Disproportionate to their small size, mosses, as well as hepatics, play a major and critical role in the Andean ecosystem, particularly in the mountain forest and alpine regions. Forming loose or dense mats, tufts, and pendants, these plants quickly absorb water from rainfall or fog mist (unlike most flowering plants), and retain 5-25% times their dry weight. These plants then gradually release the water into the immediate environment, thus moderate water flow (assuring water flow during the dry season), arrest erosion, and assist in preventing landslides and flooding down slope (during the rainy season). It is critical that we document this ecological role through qualitative and quantitative studies, and ensure the conservation of these organisms.