Plant-arthropod relationship over an area undergoing ecological restoration.
Ants; Regenerating Plants; Identity
Due to the great anthropological impacts, the Atlantic Forest is a priority area for conservation. Thus, measures to monitor the progress of restoration are increasingly used, one way to monitor is by monitoring the development of vegetation and how it relates to organisms below its canopy, highlighting arthropods. We analyzed the community of regenerating plants, ants and other arthropods on the canopy of three tree species and at different times in a reforested area, relating in the first study the difference in the arthropod community under the canopy of four tree species and between the rainy and dry period. In the second study, we evaluated whether the identity and environmental and spatial characteristics influence the agreement between regenerating plants, ants and other arthropods. We found that arthropods did not differ between tree species, but between periods and tree characteristics are important factors for the arthropod community, in the second study, we found that Guarea guidonia influenced the agreement of regenerating plants with ants, however, this agreement is considered a weak agreement and the factor that influenced the agreement between organisms was the characteristics of the environment. Thus, to understand the relationship between the plant community and the organisms that live below its canopy, it is necessary to address the influence of its characteristics and the environment.