Positive and negative impacts of insect frass quality on soil nitrogen availability and plant growth

Kagata, Hideki; Ohgushi, Takayuki

doi:10.1007/s10144-011-0281-6

Cited by 85 publications

(83 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Arctic tundra vegetation is generally nutrient limited (cf. Chapin and Shaver 1985) and larvae faeces and carcasses can provide a nutrient pulse to the system (Kagata and Ohgushi 2012). Also, reduced plant nutrient uptake during 2011, as a consequence of reduced growth, may have resulted in excess nutrient availability in the following years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Larval outbreaks in West Greenland: Instant and subsequent effects on tundra ecosystem productivity and CO2 exchange

Lund

Raundrup

Westergaard‐Nielsen

et al. 2017

Ambio

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Insect outbreaks can have important consequences for tundra ecosystems. In this study, we synthesise available information on outbreaks of larvae of the noctuid moth Eurois occulta in Greenland. Based on an extensive dataset from a monitoring programme in Kobbefjord, West Greenland, we demonstrate effects of a larval outbreak in 2011 on vegetation productivity and CO2 exchange. We estimate a decreased carbon (C) sink strength in the order of 118–143 g C m−2, corresponding to 1210–1470 tonnes C at the Kobbefjord catchment scale. The decreased C sink was, however, counteracted the following years by increased primary production, probably facilitated by the larval outbreak increasing nutrient turnover rates. Furthermore, we demonstrate for the first time in tundra ecosystems, the potential for using remote sensing to detect and map insect outbreak events.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-016-0863-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Larval outbreaks in West Greenland: Instant and subsequent effects on tundra ecosystem productivity and CO2 exchange

Lund

Raundrup

Westergaard‐Nielsen

et al. 2017

Ambio

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“…Indirect effects of herbivores have been long recognized for vertebrate herbivores in the tundra (Hik and Jefferies , Van der Wal et al ); herbivore faeces return nutrients to the ecosystem by providing highly decomposable resources that are rich in labile nutrients, and can enhance compensation mechanisms in plants (Gillespie et al ). Faeces of invertebrate herbivores (frass) are rapidly decomposed (Kagata and Ohgushi ) and, even small frass additions, can have a relevant impact on nutrient cycling (Frost and Hunter ). The possibility of frass of non‐outbreak invertebrate herbivores creating a positive feedback to nutrient cycling in tundra ecosystems and how this relationship might be affected by temperature need to be explored further.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warming the tundra: reciprocal responses of invertebrate herbivores and plants

Barrio

Bueno

Hik

2015

Oikos

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Rapid warming in northern ecosystems is simultaneously influencing plants, herbivores and the interactions among them. Recent studies suggest that herbivory could buffer plant responses to environmental change, but this has only been shown for vertebrate herbivores so far. The role of invertebrate herbivory in tundra ecosystems is often overlooked, but can be relevant in determining the structure and dynamics of tundra plant communities and may also affect how plants respond to warming. Invertebrate herbivores are also likely to respond more rapidly to warming than vertebrates because their behaviour and life cycles strongly depend on temperature. We investigated the effects of current season warming on Arctic moth caterpillars, their herbivory rates, and the subsequent responses of two common tundra plants, Salix arctica and Dryas octopetala. We manipulated both herbivore presence and temperature in a full‐factorial field experiment at two elevations, using enclosures and passive warming chambers. Changes in temperature achieved through elevation and/or experimental warming directly affected caterpillars, herbivory and the responses of plants. Caterpillars performed worse (higher respiration rates and lower growth rates) in warmer, lower elevation plots and shifted their diets towards more nutritious foods, such that the relative intensity of herbivory changed for the two studied plants. Within‐season responses of both forage plant species were weak, but invertebrate herbivores affected the responses of plants to elevation or experimental warming. Our results suggest that increased temperatures can reduce the performance of cold‐adapted invertebrate herbivores, with potential consequences to the longer term responses of tundra plants to warming due to changes in herbivory rates and selective foraging.

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“…Kagata and Ohgushi (2012) found that the decomposition of frass in the soil is an important pathway by which herbivorous insects impact decomposition and soil nutrient availability. In Thailand, A. domesticus and G. bimaculatus farmers report that the frass is beneficial to their rice fields (Halloran 2014, unpublished data).…”

Section: Waste Management and Nutrient Recyclingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of edible insects for food protein: a review

Halloran¹,

Roos²,

Eilenberg³

et al. 2016

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

190

140

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Compared to their vertebrate counterparts in traditional husbandry, insects are extremely efficient at converting organic matter into animal protein and dietary energy. For this reason, insects for food and feed show great potential as an environmentally friendly choice in future food systems. However, to obtain a true assessment of this, more information is needed about the production systems. Currently, only six studies applying the life cycle assessment (LCA) method to insect production systems have been published. The studies are heterogenous and thus difficult to compare. The aim of this paper was to establish a versatile reference framework that would allow for the selection of standardized settings for LCA applications in insect production systems, taking both the peculiarity of each system and the latest developments in food LCA into account. It is recommended that future LCAs of insect production systems take the following into account: (1) clear definition of the insect species and life stages included in the LCA, (2) use of at least two of the following types of functional units: nutritional, mass, or economic-based, (3) collection of empirical data in situ (e.g., on farms/production sites), (4) comparative analysis where production systems produce products that are realistic alternatives to the insect species under investigation, (5) inclusion of additional or previously unconsidered unit processes, such as processing and storage and waste management, and (6) use of a wide range of impact categories, especially climate change, resource consumption, nutrient enrichment potential, acidification potential, and impacts on land and water consumption in order to allow for comparison between studies.

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Positive and negative impacts of insect frass quality on soil nitrogen availability and plant growth

Cited by 85 publications

References 33 publications

Larval outbreaks in West Greenland: Instant and subsequent effects on tundra ecosystem productivity and CO2 exchange

Larval outbreaks in West Greenland: Instant and subsequent effects on tundra ecosystem productivity and CO2 exchange

Warming the tundra: reciprocal responses of invertebrate herbivores and plants

Life cycle assessment of edible insects for food protein: a review

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