Above-Belowground Herbivore Interactions in Mixed Plant Communities Are Influenced by Altered Precipitation Patterns.

ABSTRACT: Root- and shoot-feeding herbivores have the capacity to influence one another by modifying the chemistry of the shared host plant. This can alter rates of nutrient mineralization and uptake by neighboring plants and influence plant-plant competition, particularly in mixtures combining grasses and legumes. Root herbivory-induced exudation of nitrogen (N) from legume roots, for example, may increase N acquisition by co-occurring grasses, with knock-on effects on grassland community composition. Little is known about how climate change may affect these interactions, but an important and timely question is how will grass-legume mixtures respond in a future with an increasing reliance on legume N mineralization in terrestrial ecosystems. Using a model grass-legume mixture, this study investigat

SUBMITTER: Ryalls JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4804199 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature