Monodominance in an African rain forest: Is reduced herbivory important?

Tropical monodominant forests in which one tree species dominates the canop y occur in all three major tropical regions, but few studies have focused o n the mechanisms responsible for dominance. This study teats the hypothesis that relative to ocher species in the community, dominant species are well defended and escape herbivore and pathogen damage. We surveyed the race of damage on young expanding leaves of seedlings and saplings belonging to ei ght species within both monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forests and adjacent mixed-species forests in eastern Congo. Results showed that escape from herbivore and pathogen damage is not a mechanism by which Gilbertiode ndron achieves dominance, as it suffered the highest damage level of any sp ecies surveyed. Similarly, other sub-dominant common species also suffered high rates of damage. These results are discussed in relation to the phenol ic, fiber, and nitrogen content of leaves, and in the concert of current th eories pertaining to plant-herbivore interactions.