Insect herbivores increase mortality and reduce tree seedling growth of some species in temperate forest canopy gaps

Lemoine, Nathan P.; Burkepile, Deron E.; Parker, John D.

doi:10.7717/peerj.3102

Cited by 10 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Interactions between trees and herbivores are key processes shaping life history traits and dynamics of forest ecosystems [4][5][6]. By consuming plant tissues, herbivorous insects can reduce tree survival and growth, as well as affecting nutrient and carbon fluxes [7,8]. Ultimately, herbivory can affect tree fitness-defined as the ability to contribute the tree's genotype to succeeding generations [9]-and forest regeneration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree Communication: the Effects of “Wired” and “Wireless” Channels on Interactions with Herbivores

2022

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Purpose of Review Approximately 40 years ago, key papers indicating that volatile chemicals released by damaged plants elicited defense-related changes in their neighbors, brought prominence to the idea of plant communication. These studies were conducted with several tree species and the phenomenon observed was dubbed “talking trees.” Today there is a wealth of evidence supporting the idea that plants can send and receive information both above and belowground. However, while early reports of plant-plant communication concerned trees, the literature is now heavily biased towards herbaceous plants. The purpose of this review is to highlight recent research on tree-tree communication with an emphasis on synthesizing knowledge on the ecological relevance of the process. Recent Findings Aboveground, information is often provided in the form of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are released by both undamaged and damaged plants. The blends of VOCs released by plants provide information on their physiological condition. Belowground, information is conveyed through mycorrhizal networks and via VOCs and chemical exudates released into the rhizosphere. Recent findings have indicated a sophistication to tree communication with more effective VOC-mediated interactions between trees of the same versus a different genotype, kin-group, or chemotype. Moreover, common mycorrhizal networks have been shown to convey stress-related signals in intra- and interspecific associations. Together these two forms of communication represent “wireless” and “wired” channels with significance to facilitating plant resistance to herbivores. Summary In this review, we examine tree-tree communication with a focus on research in natural forest ecosystems. We particularly address the effects of tree-tree communication on interactions with herbivorous insects. Aboveground and belowground interactions are both reviewed and suggested implications for forest management and future research are presented.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree Communication: the Effects of “Wired” and “Wireless” Channels on Interactions with Herbivores

2022

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“…Insect herbivory can largely in uence ecosystem functioning by affecting growth of plant species, modifying plant community composition, and accelerating nutrient cycling (Belovsky and Slade 2000;Hartley and Jones 2008;Bagchi et al 2014). In forest ecosystems, once leaf consumption by insect herbivores affects tree growth, insect herbivory will in uence tree regeneration and subsequent processes in nutrient uxes, and eventually modify ecosystem structure and function (Stadler et al 2008;Wirth et al 2008; Lemoine et al 2017). Consequently, herbivory by phytophagous insects is of great importance in understanding ecological interactions (Stam et al 2014;Zhu et al 2014;Verçosa et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Background Insect Herbivory in Riparian Poplar Forests: the Role of Local, Landscape, and Regional Factors

Wang¹,

Tian²,

Liang³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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BackgroundForest management and landscape structure have long been considered as the main drivers of insect herbivory in forest landscapes, but relatively little is known about how ecological factors acting at local, landscape and regional scales shape background insect herbivory under natural conditions. Here, 90 primeval and managed poplar stands were sampled in riparian forests along the rivers in the Eastern part and the Western part of North China. We measured defoliation intensity of insect herbivores within forest stands in transects at near, intermediate and far distance from the rivers. We assessed the effects of region, landscape isolation, forest management, stand position, vegetation cover, and tree size on defoliation intensity. We also explored indirect effects of region and forest management on insect herbivory via changes in stand-level tree size and vegetation cover. ResultsDefoliation intensity increased with landscape-scale forest isolation and decreased with distance from forest stand to the river regardless of stand type. Defoliation intensity was higher in primeval stands than in managed poplar stands, but this difference only significant in the Eastern part of North China. Tree height varied among two regions and between primeval and managed stands. Defoliation intensity was strongly correlated with tree height and vegetation cover. But the effects of region and forest management on defoliation intensity were only partly explained by tree size and vegetation cover. ConclusionsThese results indicate that background insect herbivory can be driven by ecological factors at different scales and offer an insight into the impact of man-made changes along a gradient of landscape isolation in forest ecosystems. Our findings provide a multi-scale perspective to improve potential control strategies and risk assessment of insect damage on riparian forests in real-world situations.

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“…Browsing mammals can starkly modify tree architecture by damaging even low amounts of biomass (shoots and buds; Archibald & Bond, 2003; Moncrieff, Chamaillé‐Jammes, & Bond, 2014) and their exclusion can strongly shape the allometry of African savanna trees (Moncrieff et al, 2011). In forests, compared with the darker understorey matrix, both seedlings and saplings are prone to greater herbivory by insects in the better‐lit openings or “gaps” caused by canopy disturbances (Piper, Altmann, & Lusk, 2018), which could limit their height growth and recruitment rates there (Lemoine, Burkepile, & Parker, 2017; Norghauer, Malcolm, & Zimmerman, 2008; Norghauer & Newbery, 2013). But whether invertebrate herbivores also cause shifts in the scaling of juvenile trees (i.e., seedlings and saplings) remains experimentally untested.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific allometries reveal hyper‐slender stems in forest gaps and the impact on tree growth from insect herbivores

Norghauer

2021

Ecological Research

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Conspicuously absent from plant allometric models are insect herbivores, despite their ubiquity in pantropical forests as well as the importance of gauging their impact on plant growth for understanding tree regeneration dynamics. Conceivably, the scaling relationships of plant populations with and without exposure to insects could be compared to gain insight, but this has yet to be tried. Here, I examined the size allometry of three canopy‐statured species (Fabaceae) by fitting standard major axis regressions of stem height, number of leaves, and maximum area per leaf against stem diameter (root collar) of their juveniles (seedlings/saplings) in 41 canopy gaps after ca. 2 years of herbivore exclusion (using mesh cages with mesh‐rooftop controls), in a central African forest. Herbivores did not change the slope or intercept, nor shift the location of Tetraberlinia bifoliolata and T. korupensis populations, whose seedlings tolerate shade well. In stark contrast, all three size allometries were altered in the faster‐growing Microberlinia bisulcata, whose seedlings cannot tolerate shade indefinitely. More pronounced than either an altered slope (scaling exponent) or intercept was the strong rightward shift in location (to larger sizes) of protected M. bisulcata, whereas its normal (control) population was left stunted, with fewer and smaller leaves. Nevertheless, all species had higher than theoretically predicted scaling exponents, even in the absence of herbivores, suggesting a convergent response early in tree ontogeny across the shade‐tolerance spectrum prioritizing height gain over mechanical stability in forest gaps. But insect herbivores were able to significantly strengthen this deviation in M. bisulcata, and perhaps in T. korupensis. These results demonstrate an allometric approach may prove useful for revealing how insects differentially impact trees' growth and form (slenderness) when they are most vulnerable to herbivory.

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Insect herbivores increase mortality and reduce tree seedling growth of some species in temperate forest canopy gaps

Cited by 10 publications

References 51 publications

Tree Communication: the Effects of “Wired” and “Wireless” Channels on Interactions with Herbivores

Tree Communication: the Effects of “Wired” and “Wireless” Channels on Interactions with Herbivores

Background Insect Herbivory in Riparian Poplar Forests: the Role of Local, Landscape, and Regional Factors

Intraspecific allometries reveal hyper‐slender stems in forest gaps and the impact on tree growth from insect herbivores

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