Tree diversity reduces pest damage in mature forests across Europe

Guyot, Virginie; Castagneyrol, Bastien; Vialatte, Aude; Deconchat, Marc; Jactel, Hervé

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2015.1037

Cited by 96 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…In contrast, and opposing results from temperate forests (e.g., Guyot, Castagneyrol, Vialatte, Deconchat, & Jactel, 2016; Kambach et al., 2016), findings from natural forests in our study region revealed positive effects of tree species richness on herbivore damage (Schuldt et al., 2010). We, therefore, hypothesized that these patterns (1) lead to a negative relationship between herbivore and pathogen damage across the tree species richness gradient and that (2) this negative relationship results in nonadditive effects of herbivore and pathogen damage on tree growth that are mediated by tree species richness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Herbivore and pathogen effects on tree growth are additive, but mediated by tree diversity and plant traits

Schuldt

Hönig

Liu

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Herbivores and fungal pathogens are key drivers of plant community composition and functioning. The effects of herbivores and pathogens are mediated by the diversity and functional characteristics of their host plants. However, the combined effects of herbivory and pathogen damage, and their consequences for plant performance, have not yet been addressed in the context of biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research. We analyzed the relationships between herbivory, fungal pathogen damage and their effects on tree growth in a large‐scale forest‐biodiversity experiment. Moreover, we tested whether variation in leaf trait and climatic niche characteristics among tree species influenced these relationships. We found significant positive effects of herbivory on pathogen damage, and vice versa. These effects were attenuated by tree species richness—because herbivory increased and pathogen damage decreased with increasing richness—and were most pronounced for species with soft leaves and narrow climatic niches. However, herbivory and pathogens had contrasting, independent effects on tree growth, with pathogens decreasing and herbivory increasing growth. The positive herbivory effects indicate that trees might be able to (over‐)compensate for local damage at the level of the whole tree. Nevertheless, we found a dependence of these effects on richness, leaf traits and climatic niche characteristics of the tree species. This could mean that the ability for compensation is influenced by both biodiversity loss and tree species identity—including effects of larger‐scale climatic adaptations that have been rarely considered in this context. Our results suggest that herbivory and pathogens have additive but contrasting effects on tree growth. Considering effects of both herbivory and pathogens may thus help to better understand the net effects of damage on tree performance in communities differing in diversity. Moreover, our study shows how species richness and species characteristics (leaf traits and climatic niches) can modify tree growth responses to leaf damage under real‐world conditions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Herbivore and pathogen effects on tree growth are additive, but mediated by tree diversity and plant traits

Schuldt

Hönig

Liu

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…While forest insect damage has been found to decrease along gradients of tree diversity in temperate forests (Guyot et al 2016), tree species composition appears to be more important than tree species richness per se in explaining diversity-resistance relationships in forest ecosystems. In particular, the likelihood of associational resistance increases with the functional dissimilarity of associated trees in mixed forests (Castagneyrol et al 2014a).…”

Section: Effects Of Forest Tree Diversity On Pest Regulation Of Nativmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although it is a common belief among foresters that forest monocultures are more susceptible to pest outbreaks and insect invasions than mixed forests, it has only recently been demonstrated, via meta-analyses, that tree species grown in pure stands are, on average, significantly more affected by insect herbivory than the same species grown in mixed stands (Jactel and Brockerhoff 2007;Castagneyrol et al 2014a;Guyot et al 2016;Jactel et al 2017). This phenomenon has been termed 'associational resistance' (Barbosa et al 2009).…”

Section: Effects Of Forest Tree Diversity On Pest Regulation Of Nativmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While reduced individual tree damage is probably strongest at the scale of neighbouring trees, for example due to reduced host apparency (Guyot et al 2015;Damien et al 2016), improvement of forest health can be achieved at the stand scale (Guyot et al 2016). Improved effectiveness of biological control by natural enemies may also provide benefits to adjacent land uses such as agricultural crops (Veres et al 2013).…”

Section: Effects Of Forest Tree Diversity On Pest Regulation Of Nativmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services

et al. 2017

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Forests are critical habitats for biodiversity and they are also essential for the provision of a wide range of ecosystem services that are important to human well-being. There is increasing evidence that biodiversity contributes to forest ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. Here we provide a review of forest ecosystem services including biomass production, habitat provisioning services, pollination, seed dispersal, resistance to wind storms, fire regulation and mitigation, pest regulation of native and invading insects, carbon sequestration, and cultural ecosystem services, in relation to forest type, structure and diversity. We also consider relationships between forest biodiversity and multifunctionality, and trade-offs among ecosystem services. We compare the concepts of ecosystem processes, functions and services to clarify their definitions. Our review of published studies indicates a lack of empirical studies that establish quantitative and causal relationships between forest biodiversity and many important ecosystem services. The literature is highly skewed; studies on provisioning of nutrition and energy, and on cultural services, delivered by mixed-species forests are under-represented. Planted forests offer ample opportunity for optimising their composition and diversity because replanting after harvesting is a recurring process. Planting mixed-species forests should be given more consideration as they are likely to provide a wider range of ecosystem services within the forest and for adjacent land uses. This review also serves as the introduction to this special issue of Biodiversity and Conservation on various aspects of forest biodiversity and ecosystem services.

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“…Haas et al (2011) used field data and Bayesian hierarchical models to show that sites with higher species diversity have a reduced disease risk of Phytophthora ramorum in California, and the experiments of Hantsch et al (2014) showed that local tree diversity can decrease the level of fungal pathogen infestations of Tilia cordata and Quercus petraea . More recently, Guyot et al (2016) sampled a network of forest plots spanning several countries, and showed a positive relationship between tree species richness and resistance to insect pests. They argued that these “findings confirm the greater potential of mixed forests to face future biotic disturbances in a changing world” (Guyot et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of invasive pests and pathogens on strategies for forest diversification

Macpherson

Kleczkowski

Healey

et al. 2017

Ecological Modelling

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Tree diversity reduces pest damage in mature forests across Europe

Cited by 96 publications

References 23 publications

Herbivore and pathogen effects on tree growth are additive, but mediated by tree diversity and plant traits

Herbivore and pathogen effects on tree growth are additive, but mediated by tree diversity and plant traits

Forest biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services

The effects of invasive pests and pathogens on strategies for forest diversification

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