INVESTIGADORES
FARJI-BRENER Alejandro Gustavo
artículos
Título:
Do leaf-cutting ant nests make 'bottom up' gaps in neotropical rain forests? A critical reviw of the evidence.
Autor/es:
FARJI-BRENER, ALEJANDRO GUSTAVO; ILLES, A
Revista:
Ecology Letters
Referencias:
Año: 2000 p. 219 - 227
Resumen:
We discuss the role of leaf cutting ant nests (Atta sp.) as understory, “bottom-up”gaps in tropical rain forest ecosystems. We (1) summarize the existent knowledge of Atta nests that qualify them as disturbances and as gaps; (2) review the effects of Atta nests on the dynamics of systems other than tropical forests; (3) discuss the hypothesis that, in neotropical rain forests, Atta nests affect plant productivity and species distribution/composition; and (4) debate their importance for neotropical forest dynamics and compare their effects with the better-known effects of treefalls. Atta nests can modify soil structure, soil nutrient content, light intensity at ground level, seed bank composition, understory forest structure, and accelerate nutrient cycles. The size, frequency, high turnover rate and duration of these disturbances should make the nests spatially, temporally and qualitatively a good "landing" for plants. In spite of their apparent importance, sufficient data do not currently exist to verify their effects on productivity and/or composition in Neotropical rain forests.