Climate affects neighbour-induced changes in leaf chemical defences and tree diversity-herbivory relationships.

ABSTRACT: Associational resistance theory predicts that insect herbivory decreases with increasing tree diversity in forest ecosystems. However, the generality of this effect and its underlying mechanisms are still debated, particularly since evidence has accumulated that climate may influence the direction and strength of the relationship between diversity and herbivory.We quantified insect leaf herbivory and leaf chemical defences (phenolic compounds) of silver birch Betula pendula in pure and mixed plots with different tree species composition across 12 tree diversity experiments in different climates. We investigated whether the effects of neighbouring tree species diversity on insect herbivory in birch, that is, associational effects, were dependent on the climatic context, and whether n

SUBMITTER: Poeydebat C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7610350 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature