| Bamboos of the genus Chusquea are aggressive colonisers of tree-fall gaps in the temperate rain forests of southern Chile. Chusquea thickets inhibit regeneration of tree species, suggesting that light levels beneath bamboo-filled gaps may be lower than beneath tall forest. Two LAI-2000 canopy analysers were used to compare diffuse light availability beneath five Chusquea quila thickets and five neighbouring tall forest stands, in a low altitude (<FONT FACE=Symbol>È</FONT> 400 m a.s.l.) old-growth temperate rain forest in Parque Nacional Puyehue (40º39'S). Leaf area indices (LAI) of these two vegetation phases are also compared. Average diffuse light levels beneath bamboo thickets (1.5 %) were only slightly lower than those beneath tall forest... |
