Diaspore banks are crucial for the maintenance and resilience of plant communities, but diaspore banks of bryophytes remain poorly known, especially from tropical ecosystems. This is the first study to focus on the role of diaspore banks of bryophytes in tropical rain forests. Our aim was to test whether microhabitat (substrate type) and species traits (breeding system, phylum) are important in explaining the diaspore bank composition. Using samples cultivated in the laboratory, we assessed the number of species and shoots emerging from bark, decaying wood and soil from two sites of the Atlantic rain forest (montane and sea level) in Brazil by comparing the contribution of species by phylum (mosses, liverworts) and breeding system (monoicous, dioicous). More species emerged from bark (68) and decaying wood (55) than from soil (22). Similar numbers of species were found at both sites. Mosses were more numerous in terms of number of species and shoots, and monoicous species dominated over dioicous species. Substrate pH had only weak effects on shoot emergence. Species commonly producing sporophytes and gemmae had a high contribution to the diaspore banks. These superficial diaspore banks represented the extant vegetation rather well, but held more monoicous species (probably short-lived species) compared to dioicous ones. We propose that diaspore bank dynamics are driven by species traits and microhabitat characteristics, and that short-term diaspore banks of bryophytes in tropical rain forests contribute to fast (re)establishment of species after disturbances and during succession, particularly dioicous mosses investing in asexual reproduction and monoicous mosses investing in sexual reproduction. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.1682321333Allen, B.H., Magill, R.E., In support of a distinct terminology for bryophyte sexuality (1987) Taxon, 36, pp. 57-58Alves, L.F., Vieira, S.A., Scaranello, M.A., Camargo, P.B., Santos, F.A.M., Joly, C.A., Martinelli, L.A., Forest structure and live aboveground variation along an elevational gradient of tropical Atlantic moist forest (Brazil) (2010) For Ecol Manag, 30, pp. 679-691Bisang, I., The diaspore bank of hornworts (Anthocerotae, Bryophyta) and its role in the maintenance of populations in cultivated fields (1995) Cryptogam Helv, 18, pp. 107-116Bisang, I., Piippo, S., Hedenäs, L., Bryophyte diaspore bank in three Malaysian mountain rainforests (2003) J Bryol, 25, pp. 68-70Cleavitt, N., Stress tolerance of rare and common moss species in relation to their occupied environments and asexual dispersal potential (2002) J Ecol, 90, pp. 785-795Cleavitt, N., Patterns, hypothesis and processes in the biology of rare bryophytes (2005) Bryologist, 108, pp. 554-566Cornelissen, H.C., Gradstein, S.R., On the occurrence of bryophytes and macrolichens in different lowland rain forest types at Mabura Hill, Guyana (1990) Trop Bryol, 3, pp. 29-35Costa, D.P., Epiphytic bryophyte diversity in primary and secondary lowland rainforests in south eastern Brazil (1999) Bryologist, 102, pp. 320-326Costa, D.P., Briófitas (2009) Plantas Da Floresta Atlântica, pp. 13-17. , J. R. Stehmann, R. C. Forzza, A. Salino, M. Sobral, D. P. Costa, and L. H. Y. Kamino (Eds.), Rio de Janeiro: Jardim Botânico do Rio de JaneiroCrandall-Stotler, B., Stotler, R.E., Long, D.G., Morphology and classification of the Marchantiophyta (2008) Bryophyte Biology, pp. 1-54. , B. Goffinet and J. Shaw (Eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University PressCrawford, M., Jesson, L.K., Garnock-Jones, P.J., Correlated evolution of asexual system and life-history traits in mosses (2009) Evolution, 63, pp. 1129-1142During, H.J., Life strategies of bryophytes: a preliminary review (1979) Lindbergia, 5, pp. 2-18During, H.J., Bryophyte diaspore banks (1997) Adv Bryol, 6, pp. 103-134During, H.J., Episodic bryophytes in the diaspore bank of a Zimbabwean savanna (2007) Lindbergia, 32, pp. 55-61During, H.J., Brugués, M., Cros, R.M., Lloret, F., The diaspore bank of bryophytes and ferns in the soil in some contrasting habitats around Barcelona, Spain (1987) Lindbergia, 13, pp. 137-149Egunyomi, A., Comparative culture studies on the spores and gemmae of Octoblepharum albidum Hedw (1978) J Hattori Bot Lab, 44, pp. 25-30Farmer, A.M., Bates, J.W., Bell, J.N.B., A comparison of methods from measurement of bark (1990) Lichenologist, 22, pp. 191-197Frahm, J.-P., Diversity, dispersal and biogeography of bryophytes (mosses) (2008) Biodivers Conserv, 17, pp. 277-284Frahm, J.-P., Gradstein, S.R., An altitudinal zonation of tropical rain forests using bryophytes (1991) J Biogeogr, 18, pp. 669-678Goffinet, B., William, B.R., Shaw, J., Morphology, anatomy, and classification of the Bryophyta (2008) Bryophyte Biology, pp. 55-138. , B. Goffinet and J. Shaw (Eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University PressGradstein, S.R., Churchill, S.P., Salazar Allen, N., Guide to the Bryophytes of Tropical America (2001) Mem N Y Bot Gard, 86, pp. 1-577Jonsson, B.G., The bryophyte diaspore bank and its role after small-scale disturbance in a boreal forest (1993) J Veg Sci, 4, pp. 819-826Laaka-Lindberg, S., Hedderson, T.A., Longton, R.E., Rarity and reproductive characteristics in the British hepatic flora (2000) Lindbergia, 25, pp. 78-84Lloyd, R.M., Klekowski Jr., E.J., Spore germination and viability in Pteridophyta: evolutionary significance of chlorophyllous spores (1970) Biotropica, 2, pp. 129-137Löbel, S., Rydin, H., Dispersal and life-history strategies in epiphyte metacommunities: alternative solutions to survival in patchy, dynamic landscapes (2009) Oecologia, 161, pp. 569-579Löbel, S., Rydin, H., Trade-offs and habitat constraints in the establishment of epiphytic bryophytes (2010) Funct Ecol, 24, pp. 887-897Longton, R.E., Reproduction and rarity in British mosses (1992) Biol Conserv, 59, pp. 89-98Maciel da Silva, A.S., Lins-Silva, F.C., Banco de diásporos de pteridófitas e briófitas de um fragmento de Floresta Atlântica Nordestina (PE) (2007) Rev Bras Biocienc, 5, pp. 273-275Maciel da Silva, A.S., Simabukuro, E.A., Pôrto, K.C., Morfogênese protonemática de briófitas ocorrentes em Remanescentes de Floresta Atlântica do estado de Pernambuco, Brasil (2006) Bol Inst Bot, 18, pp. 213-227Maciel da Silva, A.S., Pôrto, K.C., Simabukuro, E.A., Effect of light and water availability on spore germination and protonemal growth of the Neotropical moss Thamniopsis incurva (Pilotrichaceae) (2009) Cryptogam Bryol, 30, pp. 243-257Miles, C.J., Longton, R.E., The role of spores in reproduction in mosses (1990) Bot J Linn Soc, 104, pp. 149-173Miles, C.J., Longton, R.E., Deposition of moss spores in relation to distance from parent gametophytes (1992) J Bryol, 17, pp. 355-368Nehira, K., Spore germination, protonema development and sporeling development (1983) New Manual of Bryology, pp. 343-379. , R. M. Schuster (Ed.), Nichinan: The Hattori Botanical LaboratoryOliveira, S.M., Pôrto, K.C., Reprodução sexuada em musgos acrocárpicos do Estado de Pernambuco, Brasil (1998) Acta Bot Bras, 12, pp. 385-392Parsons, J.G., Cairns, A., Johnson, C.N., Robson, S.K.A., Shilton, L.A., Westcott, D.A., Bryophyte dispersal by flying foxes: a novel discovery (2007) Oecologia, 152, pp. 112-114(2010) Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos-CPTEC/INPE, , http://satelite.cptec.inpe.br/PCD, Plataforma de coleta de dados. Accessed on January 2010Pohjamo, M., Laaka-Lindberg, S., Ovaskainen, O., Korpelainen, H., Dispersal potential of spores and asexual propagules in the epixylic hepatic Anastrophyllum hellerianum (2006) Evol Ecol, 20, pp. 415-430Pôrto, K.C., Oliveira, S., Reproductive phenology of Octoblepharum albidum (Bryopsida, Leucobryaceae) in a tropical lowland forest of north-eastern Brazil (2002) J Bryol, 24, pp. 291-294Proctor, M.C.F., Oliver, M.J., Wood, A.J., Alpert, P., Stark, L.R., Cleavitt, N.L., Mishler, B.D., Desiccation tolerance in bryophytes: a review (2007) Bryologist, 110, pp. 595-621Pyle, C., Brown, M.M., Heterogeneity of wood decay classes within hardwood logs (1999) For Ecol Manag, 114, pp. 253-259Ross-Davis, A., Frego, K.A., Propagule sources of forest bryophytes: spatiotemporal compositional patterns (2004) Bryologist, 107, pp. 88-97Rudolphi, J., Ant-mediated dispersal of asexual moss propagules (2009) Bryologist, 112, pp. 73-79Santos, N.D., Costa, D.P., A importância de Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural para a conservação da brioflora da Mata Atlântica: um estudo em El Nagual (2008) Acta Bot Bras, 22, pp. 359-372. , Magé, RJ, BrasilSchofield, W.B., Ecological significance of morphological characters in the moss gametophyte (1981) Bryologist, 84, pp. 149-165Schofield, W.B., (1985) Introduction to Bryology, , New York: MacmillanSetzer, J., (1966) Atlas climatológico Do Estado De São Paulo, , São Paulo: Comissão Interestadual da Bacia do Paraná-Paraguai--CESPSilva, F.C., (1999) Manual De análises químicas De Solo Plantas E Fertilizantes, , Brasília: Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa agropecuária--EmbrapaStehmann, J.R., Forzza, R.C., Salino, A., Sobral, M., Costa, D.P., Kamino, L.H.Y., Diversidade taxonômica na Floresta Atlântica (2009) Plantas Da Floresta Atlântica, pp. 3-12. , J. R. Stehmann, R. C. Forzza, A. Salino, M. Sobral, D. P. Costa, and L. H. Y. Kamino (Eds.), Rio de Janeiro: Jardim Botânico do Rio de JaneiroSundberg, S., Larger capsules enhance short-range spore dispersal in Sphagnum, but what happens further away? (2005) Oikos, 108, pp. 115-124Sundberg, S., Rydin, H., Experimental evidence for a persistent spore bank in Sphagnum (2000) New Phytol, 148, pp. 105-116Tabarelli, M., Pinto, L.P., Silva, J.M.C., Hirota, M., Bede, L., Challenges and opportunities for biodiversity conservation in the Brazilian Atlantic forest (2005) Conserv Biol, 19, pp. 695-700Ter Steege, H., Cornelissen, J.H.C., Distribution and ecology of vascular epiphytes in lowland rain forest of Guyana (1989) Biotropica, 21, pp. 331-339Thomas, P.A., Proctor, M.C.F., Maltby, E., The ecology of severe moorland fire on the North York Moors: chemical and physical constraints on moss establishment from spores (1994) J Ecol, 82, pp. 457-474Thompson, K., The functional ecology of soil seed banks (2000) Seeds: The Ecology of Regeneration in Plant Communities, pp. 215-235. , M. Fenner (Ed.), Wallingford: CAB InternationalTuretsky, M.R., The role of bryophytes in carbon and nitrogen cycling (2003) Bryologist, 106, pp. 395-409Veloso, H.P., Rangel Filho, A.L.R., Lima, J.C.A., (1991) Classificação Da Vegetação Brasileira Adaptada a Um Sistema Universal, , Brazil: IBGE, Departamento de Recursos Naturais e Estudos AmbientaisVisnadi, S.R., Brioflora da Mata Atlântica do estado de São Paulo: região norte (2005) Hoehnea, 32, pp. 215-231Wiklund, K., Rydin, H., Ecophysiological constraints on spore establishment in bryophytes (2004) Funct Ecol, 18, pp. 907-913