A briophyte community growing over rocks in Itatiaia National Park, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Briophytes communities develop in humid places and may contain dozens of species in close association. This type o ecological commmunity may present patterns of ecological interactions and developmental dynamics that resembles the complexity observed in shrub and woody vegetation onver large temporal and spatial scales. Such characteristics have allow researches use briophyte patches as model system to study broad scale patterns and mechanisms in community ecology.