Background insect herbivory increases with local elevation but makes minor contribution to element cycling along natural gradients in the Subarctic.

ABSTRACT: Herbivores can exert major controls over biogeochemical cycling. As invertebrates are highly sensitive to temperature shifts (ectothermal), the abundances of insects in high-latitude systems, where climate warming is rapid, is expected to increase. In subarctic mountain birch forests, research has focussed on geometrid moth outbreaks, while the contribution of background insect herbivory (BIH) to elemental cycling is poorly constrained. In northern Sweden, we estimated BIH along 9 elevational gradients distributed across a gradient in regional elevation, temperature, and precipitation to allow evaluation of consistency in local versus regional variation. We converted foliar loss via BIH to fluxes of C, nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) from the birch canopy to the soil to compare with other

SUBMITTER: Kristensen JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7593201 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature