## 4 Discussion
### Chemodiversity and Chemophenetic Indices  
The results of the calculations of chemodiversity \(\alpha\) indices showed that the richness of chemical compounds present in the leaves of _P. rivinoides_ is almost twice the richness found in the roots, which was the second organ with the highest chemical diversity. Given that leaves are the organs with the most significant interspecific interaction in a plant, it is postulated, for example, that the chemical diversity of leaves correlates with the diversity of the insect community interacting with them. [PERSON] et al. (2015) sought to comprehend the role of plant chemodiversity in the intricate dynamics of ecological relationships within a community. They concluded that plants producing a greater variety of chemical compounds interact with a more diverse insect community. This factor may result in the different patterns of herbivory observed in the leaves of _P. rivinoides_[75]. Chemodiversity is also increased as the plant grows. There is also a significant correlation between developmental stages and the composition of EO. Smaller plants may have access to limited resources such as nutrients and water due to their size and less developed roots system. This resource limitation can influence the production and diversity of chemical compounds. In response to resource scarcity, plants may prioritize the production of a smaller number of compounds essential to their survival, resulting in low chemodiversity in young plants [77]. Another point is that smaller plants may be at earlier stages of development, in which they invest more energy in growth and vegetative expansion than in the production of secondary compounds. As plants grow and mature, they can allocate more resources to producing a wider variety of chemical compounds. However, the low richness of compounds in smaller plants may rely on specific defense strategies, such as producing a single chemical compound, such as apiol, to protect them against herbivores or pathogens. As plants grow and become more resistant, they can diversify their defense strategies, which leads to a greater diversity of chemical compounds [28]. Considering that leaves of _P. rivinoides_ are highly attacked by herbivores in nature (unpublished data), this observed chemodiversity \(\alpha\) in the leaves can be supported by the screening hypothesis postulated by [75]. This hypothesis suggests that chemical diversity is maintained because it increases the probability of a plant containing a potent compound or a precursor that is effective against a particular type of natural enemy, cumulatively creating a selective advantage against a diverse set of natural enemies. Thus, high chemodiversity would provide precursors of effective combinations of compounds that work synergistically against a particular type of natural enemy [90]. Although the diversity of insects that interact with the plant has not yet been quantified (data under study), the high chemodiversity \(\alpha\) of the leaf EO of _P. rivinoides_ suggests a wide variety of herbivorous insects that attack this plant. It is important to note that the chemodiversity \(\alpha\) recorded for the roots of _P. rivinoides_ is representative. This diversity of micromollecules may be associated with the soil microbiome, which has high biological diversity. Therefore, it can be argued that this chemodiversity may also be influenced by abiotic factors, thus being associated with the screening and the optimal defense hypothesis [3; 75; 71]. However, the hypothesis that plant chemical diversity influences insect diversity (niche impact theory) [10] still needs to be tested in _P. rivinoides_, since the presence and diversity of insects that interact with this species have not been quantified. Therefore, future research should investigate this relationship and thus contribute to a better understanding of the factors that influence biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems.