Lack of Interspecific Plant Competition With a Dominant Grass in the Understory of a Lowland Forest in Colombia

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 m²) and there was no negative relationship between the abundance of the grass and that of other plants.