Dwarf bamboo as an ecological filter for forest regeneration

Quantitative relationships between the aboveground biomass of dwarf bamboo, Sasa nipponica, and the survivorship and emergence of seedlings of Abies homolepis, Fraxinus lanuginosa f. serrata, and Fagus crenata were estimated. We show that dwarf bamboo acts as an ecological filter since the responses of tree species differ according to the biomass of dwarf bamboo. Deer exclusion without management of dwarf bamboo would make it impossible for any tree species to regenerate due to rapid increases in the biomass of dwarf bamboo.