Monitoring of forests in process of restoration has shown that they have not been achieving high diversity of life forms. Epiphytes, plants that live on host trees (phorophytes), are essential in an ecosystem. Thus, it is important to promote enrichment of forests using them. The aim of this work is to provide information for procedures of transplantation of epiphytes taken from forests that had to be cut off to areas that have been restored. In order to perform that, we analyzed survival and development of individuals of Aechmea bromeliifolia (Rudge) Baker (Bromeliaceae) a year after been transferred to six distinct host tree species, in a 23-year old Semideciduous Seasonal Forest. These variables did not significantly respond to any particular phorophyte species, bark roughness, or canopy cover. They showed significant differences according to the initial weight of the epiphytes. The middle-sized individuals (105.5 a 239.4 g) were the most successful in transplantations.
Aechmea bromeliifolia (Rudge) Baker; Bark roughness; Canopy cover; Epiphyte weight; Restoration Ecology
