UREDINALES (RUST FUNGI) BIOTA OF THE PARQUE NACIONAL DO ITATIAIA, BRAZIL: AN ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITION, SPECIES DIVERSITY AND ALTITUDINAL DISTRIBUTION

The present study analyzed the composition, species diversity, and altitudinal distribution of rust fungi (Uredinales) collected in the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, Brazil.Results were compared with other Atlantic Forest locations, the São Paulo Cerradoand some other tropical regions. The Uredinales collections were made over thecourse of two years, covering the states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais, from500 to 2600m above the sea level. The Uredinales Biota is composed of 38 genera(32 teleomorphs and 6 anamorphs) and 207 species, 178 of which were teleomorphicand 29 anamorphic. The genera Puccinia, Uromyces and Phakopsora contained ahigh number of species (58% combined). A hundred and ninety-two hosts belongingto 63 botanical families were recorded. The rust/host ratio for ten of the richestfamilies in number of species was 1:8. A high similarity (50%) was found betweentwo altitudinal ranges. The results provide a strong additional argument for the needto preserve and continue studies in such areas