Keywords
substrate
canopy
tropical
forest
How to Cite
Abstract
A survey of epiphytic ferns was carried out in logged and unlogged forests of Kibale National Park. The hundred major host trees were studied by a Single Rope Technique. A total of 5 families, 13 genera, and 24 species were found. Aspleniaceae and Polypodiaceae were the most species-rich families at the study sites. The total number of species did not differ significantly between logged and unlogged forests. There was a weak correlation between the basal area of the host and the number of ferns present. Most species were found growing in light humus as compared to bark and heavy humus as substrates. Most species occurred on the base and mid branch zones of their hosts although there was a wide range of vertical distribution in the logged and unlogged forest. The most similar vertical zones relative to species of ferns present were the base and mid branch regions with Jaccard's indices of 0.673 and 0.781 for the unlogged and logged forests respectively. Selective logging appears not to have led to the decline in the species richness and change in the composition of the epiphytic ferns 28 years following that event.
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