Canopy closure exerts weak controls on understory dynamics: a 30‐year study of overstory–understory interactions

Stem exclusion and understory reinitiation are commonly described, but poorly understood, stages of forest development. It is assumed that overstory trees exert strong controls on understory herbs and shrubs during the transition from open‐ to closed‐canopy forests, but long‐term observations of this process are rare. We use long‐term data from 188 plots to explore patterns and correlates of variation in understory richness and abundance 15–45...