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 m(2)) and there was no negative relationship between the abundance of the grass and that of other plants.