{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T17:40:58Z","timestamp":1773250858103,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":98,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,10]],"date-time":"2025-12-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1765324800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Altitudinal gradients offer powerful natural frameworks to investigate how environmental factors shape biodiversity, especially on young oceanic volcanic islands where short spatial distances encompass sharp climatic transitions. This study documents bryophyte diversity and examines how elevation, substrate, and environmental variables influence the structure of bryophyte communities on Flores Island (Azores). Across five sites and 385 microplots, 89 species from 37 families were recorded, with liverworts predominating (liverwort-to-moss ratio of 1.41). Species richness and abundance followed a unimodal pattern, peaking at mid-elevations (400\u2013600 m a.s.l.), where humid and thermally stable conditions favor the coexistence of lowland and montane taxa. Even modest altitudinal shifts corresponded to pronounced turnover in community composition, revealing strong ecological filtering along the gradient. Substrate type further influenced diversity patterns, with liverworts dominating epiphytic and lignicolous habitats, while mosses were more diverse on terricolous and rupicolous substrates. The presence of several Azorean and Macaronesian endemics, including threatened taxa, highlights the conservation importance of mid-elevation habitats. Overall, these results show that fine-scale altitudinal variation generates substantial ecological differentiation, underscoring the role of montane forests as refugia for hygrophilous and endemic bryophytes and as sensitive indicators of environmental change in island ecosystems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants14243766","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,10]],"date-time":"2025-12-10T16:11:18Z","timestamp":1765383078000},"page":"3766","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Diversity and Distribution of Bryophytes Along an Altitudinal Gradient on Flores Island (Azores, Portugal)"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3550-8010","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rosalina","family":"Gabriel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Azores, CE3C\u2014Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE\u2014Global Change and Sustainability Institute, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Rua Capit\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o d\u2019\u00c1vila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Hero\u00edsmo, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0561-1666","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leila Nunes","family":"Morgado","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Azores, CE3C\u2014Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE\u2014Global Change and Sustainability Institute, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Rua Capit\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o d\u2019\u00c1vila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Hero\u00edsmo, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5196-9730","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Silvia","family":"Poponessi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Alpine Environment, Eurac Research, Viale Druso 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2529-6720","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"D\u00e9bora S. G.","family":"Henriques","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Banco Gen\u00e9tico Vegetal Aut\u00f3ctone, Empresa Municipal Cascais Ambiente, Estrada de Vale de Cavalos, 2645-138 Cascais, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5829-6073","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"M\u00e1rcia C. M.","family":"Coelho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Azores, CE3C\u2014Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE\u2014Global Change and Sustainability Institute, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Rua Capit\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o d\u2019\u00c1vila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Hero\u00edsmo, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-8684-7204","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gabriela M.","family":"Silveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Azores, Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation, Rua Capit\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o d\u2019\u00c1vila, Pico da Urze, S\u00e3o Pedro, 9700-042 Angra do Hero\u00edsmo, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8448-7623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paulo A. V.","family":"Borges","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of the Azores, CE3C\u2014Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes, Azorean Biodiversity Group, CHANGE\u2014Global Change and Sustainability Institute, School of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Rua Capit\u00e3o Jo\u00e3o d\u2019\u00c1vila, Pico da Urze, 9700-042 Angra do Hero\u00edsmo, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"977","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2699.2008.01892.x","article-title":"A general dynamic theory of oceanic island biogeography","volume":"35","author":"Whittaker","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Biogeogr."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Whittaker, R.J., and Fernandez-Pal\u00e1cios, J.M. (2007). Island Biogeography: Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation, Oxford University Press. 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