Passage I

A 1-hectare (10,000 m²) area of forest was equally divided into Plots X and Y. The herbaceous layer (all nonwoody plants ≤ 1 m tall) in Plot Y was then killed using an herbicide. Next, equal numbers of seeds from 5 tree species were evenly dispersed throughout both plots. Figure 1 shows, for each tree species, the seedling emergence (average number of seedlings per m² that emerged from the forest floor) for each plot. Figure 2 shows, for each tree species, the percent of the seedlings that were surviving in each plot 1 yr after emergence. Figure 3 shows, for each plot, the percent distribution of the 5 tree species among those 1-year-old seedlings.