Responses of community-level plant-insect interactions to climate warming in a meadow steppe.

ABSTRACT: Climate warming may disrupt trophic interactions, consequently influencing ecosystem functioning. Most studies have concentrated on the temperature-effects on plant-insect interactions at individual and population levels, with a particular emphasis on changes in phenology and distribution. Nevertheless, the available evidence from the community level is limited. A 3-year field manipulative experiment was performed to test potential responses of plant and insect communities, and plant-insect interactions, to elevated temperature in a meadow steppe. Warming increased the biomass of plant community and forbs, and decreased grass biomass, indicating a shift from grass-dominant to grass-forb mixed plant community. Reduced abundance of the insect community under warming, particularly the herbivo

SUBMITTER: Zhu H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4685464 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature