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Lack of Interspecific Plant Competition With a Dominant Grass in the Understory of a Lowland Forest in Colombia
Author(s) -
Stevenson Pablo R.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00369.x
Subject(s) - understory , interspecific competition , competition (biology) , quadrat , species richness , abundance (ecology) , biology , ecology , herb , geography , canopy , shrub , medicine , medicinal herbs , traditional medicine
I analyzed a natural experiment of competition involving a dominant herb in Tinigua Park, Colombia. Pharus virescens is a dominant monocarpic grass that synchronously produces seeds once every 5 yr, after which all individuals die. I found no difference in species richness, density, or diversity comparing plots with and without the grass in 381 quadrats (4 m 2 ) and there was no negative relationship between the abundance of the grass and that of other plants.