Richness, geographic distribution and ecological aspects of the fern community within the Murici Ecological Station in the state of Alagoas, Brazil

We conducted a floristic survey of ferns within the Murici Ecological Station (remnant of the northeastern Atlantic Forest), located near the municipalities of Messias and Murici, in the state of Alagoas, Brazil. To increase knowledge of the ferns of Alagoas, we evaluated the species occurring in the study area in terms of richness, composition, geographic distribution, similarities with species in other Brazilian biomes, regional conservation status and ecological aspects. Data were obtained from field work conducted between March 2009 and September 2010. We identified 107 species of ferns, of which 19 represent new records for Alagoas. The richest families were Pteridaceae (29 species) and Polypodiaceae (22 species). The richest genera were Adiantum (15 species) and Thelypteris (9 species). Most of the species sampled are widely distributed throughout Brazil and the Americas. Within the context of the northeastern Atlantic Forest, 12 species were considered endangered. Concerning the ecological aspects, 88.8% of the species identified were herbaceous, 57.9% were terrestrial and 70.0% occurred in the forest interior