Invertebrate herbivory increases along an experimental gradient of grassland plant diversity
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- 作者：Hannah Loranger (1) (6)
Wolfgang W. Weisser (2) (7)
Anne Ebeling (2)
Till Eggers (1) (8)
Enrica De Luca (3)
Jessy Loranger (4)
Christiane Roscher (5)
Sebastian T. Meyer (2) (7) - 关键词：Biodiversity ; Folivory ; Jena Experiment ; Species richness ; Trophic interactions
- 刊名：Oecologia
- 出版年：2014
- 出版时间：January 2014
- 年：2014
- 卷：174
- 期：1
- 页码：183-193
- 全文大小：495 KB
- 作者单位：Hannah Loranger (1) (6)
Wolfgang W. Weisser (2) (7)
Anne Ebeling (2)
Till Eggers (1) (8)
Enrica De Luca (3)
Jessy Loranger (4)
Christiane Roscher (5)
Sebastian T. Meyer (2) (7)
1. Experimental Ecology Group, Department of Biology and Chemistry, University of Osnabrück, Barbarastrasse 13, 49076, Osnabrück, Germany
6. Functional Ecology of Plants, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany
2. Multitrophic Interactions, Institute of Ecology, University of Jena, Dornburger Strasse 159, 07743, Jena, Germany
7. Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Management, Center for Food and Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technische Universit?t München, Hans-von-Carlowitz-Platz 2, 85354, Freising, Germany
8. BASF SE, Crop Protection Global Research and Development, APR/PK, Limburgerhof, Germany
3. Biology of Species Interactions, Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurer Strasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland
4. Département de Biologie et Centre des études de la forêt, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R9, Canada
5. Department of Community Ecology, UFZ, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Theodor-Lieser-Strasse 4, 06120, Halle, Germany - ISSN：1432-1939
文摘
Plant diversity is a key driver of ecosystem functioning best documented for its influence on plant productivity. The strength and direction of plant diversity effects on species interactions across trophic levels are less clear. For example, with respect to the interactions between herbivorous invertebrates and plants, a number of competing hypotheses have been proposed that predict either increasing or decreasing community herbivory with increasing plant species richness. We investigated foliar herbivory rates and consumed leaf biomass along an experimental grassland plant diversity gradient in year eight after establishment. The gradient ranged from one to 60 plant species and manipulated also functional group richness (from one to four functional groups—legumes, grasses, small herbs, and tall herbs) and plant community composition. Measurements in monocultures of each plant species showed that functional groups differed in the quantity and quality of herbivory damage they experienced, with legumes being more damaged than grasses or non-legume herbs. In mixed plant communities, herbivory increased with plant diversity and the presence of two key plant functional groups in mixtures had a positive (legumes) and a negative (grasses) effect on levels of herbivory. Further, plant community biomass had a strong positive impact on consumed leaf biomass, but little effect on herbivory rates. Our results contribute detailed data from a well-established biodiversity experiment to a growing body of evidence suggesting that an increase of herbivory with increasing plant diversity is the rule rather than an exception. Considering documented effects of herbivory on other ecosystem functions and the increase of herbivory with plant diversity, levels of herbivory damage might not only be a result, but also a trigger within the diversity–productivity relationship.