Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.5
2.9
Journals
Forests
Special Issues
Impacts of Herbivory on Plant Communities
share announcement

Impacts of Herbivory on Plant Communities

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2021) | Viewed by 7750

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Michael T. Stevens

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT 84058, USA
Interests: plant ecology; plant–herbivore interactions; tolerance to herbivory; genotype-by-environment interactions; expression of plant traits; plant growth and architecture; plant distribution patterns; seed dispersal; trees and shrubs

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Herbivory comes in multiple forms (e.g., browsing, grazing, granivory, and frugivory) and affects a wide variety of plant communities. The effects of herbivory on plants are context-dependent and can be modulated by the predators of herbivores, plant–plant interactions, and abiotic conditions. Understanding how plants resist, tolerate, and escape herbivory is key to comprehending the interactions and processes that shape community dynamics and drive patterns observed on both local and global scales. Plant–herbivore interactions are currently being altered by climate change, invasive species, and habitat loss, making conservation efforts informed by science even more pressing.

We invite submissions for a Special Issue of Forests on the subject of “Impacts of Herbivory on Plant Communities” to address areas of both timeless and timely interest. Topics for submissions may include but are not limited to the keywords listed below.

Prof. Dr. Michael T. Stevens
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Herbivory
  • Plant communities
  • Soil nutrients
  • Water availability
  • Latitude
  • Resistance
  • Tolerance
  • Climate change

Published Papers (3 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 2476 KiB  
Article
Decomposition of Herbivore-Damaged Leaves of Understory Species Growing in Oak and Pine Stands
by Adrian Łukowski, Marian J. Giertych, Michał Żmuda, Ewa Mąderek, Dawid Adamczyk and Piotr Karolewski
Forests 2021, 12(3), 304; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f12030304 - 06 Mar 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2359
Abstract
Leaves are the largest component of forest litter. Their decomposition rate depends mainly on plant species, leaf chemical composition, microorganism biodiversity, and habitat conditions. It is known that herbivory by insects can modify the chemical composition of leaves, such as through induction. The [...] Read more.
Leaves are the largest component of forest litter. Their decomposition rate depends mainly on plant species, leaf chemical composition, microorganism biodiversity, and habitat conditions. It is known that herbivory by insects can modify the chemical composition of leaves, such as through induction. The aim of this study was to determine whether the rate of leaf decomposition is related to the susceptibility of the plant species to insect feeding and how leaf damage affects this rate. For our research, we chose six species differing in leaf resistance to insect damage: Cornus sanguinea, Frangula alnus, and Sambucus nigra (herbivore resistant), and Corylus avellana, P. padus, and Prunus serotina (herbivore susceptible). The decomposition of these plant leaves was examined in two monoculture forest stands, deciduous (Quercus robur) and coniferous (Pinus sylvestris). Litter decay rate k and change of litter mass, content of defensive metabolites (total phenols (TPh) and condensed tannins), and substances beneficial for organisms decomposing litter (nitrogen (N) and nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC)) were determined. Contrary to our expectations, leaf litter of herbivore-resistant species decomposed faster than that of herbivore-susceptible species, and damaged leaves decayed faster than undamaged leaves. We found that faster decaying leaf litter had a lower content of defensive compounds and a higher content of TNC and N, regardless of the plant species or leaf damage. Leaf litter decomposition caused a large and rapid decrease in the content of defensive compounds and TNC, and an increase in N. In all species, the tannin content was lower in damaged than in undamaged leaves. This pattern was also observed for TPh, except in S. nigra. We interpret this as the main reason for faster decay of damaged leaves. Moreover, the loss of leaf mass was greater under oak than pine stands, indicating that the microorganisms in deciduous stands are more effective at decomposing litter, regardless of leaf damage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Herbivory on Plant Communities)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

8 pages, 2594 KiB  
Article
Frugivory by Coyotes Decreases the Time to Germination and Increases the Growth of Netleaf Hackberry (Celtis reticulata) Seedlings
by Michael T. Stevens, Sydney Houghton and Hannah A. Veltkamp
Forests 2020, 11(7), 727; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11070727 - 03 Jul 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1694
Abstract
Research Highlights: Frugivory by mammals is a common plant–animal interaction, but additional studies that examine the effects of frugivory on woody plants are needed. We show that ingestion of netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata Torr.) fruits by coyotes (Canis latrans Say) cuts [...] Read more.
Research Highlights: Frugivory by mammals is a common plant–animal interaction, but additional studies that examine the effects of frugivory on woody plants are needed. We show that ingestion of netleaf hackberry (Celtis reticulata Torr.) fruits by coyotes (Canis latrans Say) cuts the time to germination nearly in half and results in seedlings that are taller than the controls. Background and Objectives: Netleaf hackberry is a deciduous shrub to small tree that can be long-lived, but newly established stands are rare. The lack of juvenile hackberry in its native range of southwestern North America could be due to low percentages of germination and seedling survival. We hypothesized that passage through the digestive tract of a coyote would increase the germination and subsequent growth of netleaf hackberry. Materials and Methods: In the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, we collected coyote scats containing visible hackberry fruits and picked fresh fruits from nearby hackberry shrubs. All samples were cleaned and cold-stratified. We sowed 20 seeds from each of the 34 samples into containers in the greenhouse (a total of 680 seeds). We noted the date of emergence and final height of each seedling after 131 days. Results: The germination percentage of the coyote-treatment seeds did not differ from that of the controls. However, the coyote-ingested seeds took just over half as many days to germinate as did the undigested controls (35 days vs. 69 days, respectively; p < 0.001) and the resulting seedlings were 9.5% taller by the end of the growing season (6.4 vs. 5.8 cm, respectively; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Consumption by coyotes can benefit hackberries by enabling their seeds to germinate earlier in the year when conditions are wetter and cooler. The additional time for establishment and growth afforded by frugivory likely increases the fitness of netleaf hackberry seedlings that emerge into the unpredictable conditions of a semi-arid region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Herbivory on Plant Communities)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 1660 KiB  
Article
Effects of Twenty Years of Ungulate Browsing on Forest Regeneration at Paneveggio Reserve, Italy
by Davide D’Aprile, Giorgio Vacchiano, Fabio Meloni, Matteo Garbarino, Renzo Motta, Vittorio Ducoli and Piergiovanni Partel
Forests 2020, 11(6), 612; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/f11060612 - 01 Jun 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3207
Abstract
Forest ecosystems are threatened by different natural disturbances. Among them, the irruption of large herbivores represents one of the most alarming issues. Several local-scale studies have been carried out to clarify the mechanisms governing ungulate–forest interactions, to understand the effect of wild ungulates [...] Read more.
Forest ecosystems are threatened by different natural disturbances. Among them, the irruption of large herbivores represents one of the most alarming issues. Several local-scale studies have been carried out to clarify the mechanisms governing ungulate–forest interactions, to understand the effect of wild ungulates overabundance, and to apply conservation plans. However, information at large scales, over long periods of observation and from unmanipulated conditions is still scarce. This study aims to improve our knowledge in this field by using repeated inventories to investigate: the types of damage produced by ungulate populations on young trees, the drivers that stimulate browsing activity and its consequences on the specific composition of seedlings and saplings. To reach these goals, we used data collected during a twenty-year monitoring program (1994–2014) in the forests of Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Nature Park (Italy). We applied descriptive statistics to summarize the data, GLMs to identify the drivers of browsing activity and Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling (nMDS) ordinations to investigate the changes in specific composition of young trees across 20 years. We detected increasing browsing activity from 1994 to 2008 and a decline in 2014. Ungulates browsed preferentially in mature stands, and fed mostly on seedlings and saplings under 150 cm of height. The analysis of the environmental drivers of browsing pressure on the smallest size classes of plants suggests that foraging behavior is influenced by snowpack conditions, ungulate density and seasonality. Moreover, results underline the fact that ungulates feed mostly on palatable species, especially European rowan, but can also use unpalatable plants as emergency food under high competition levels. nMDS results suggest that rowan seed dispersion might be promoted by deer movements, however, saplings of this species were not able to exceed 30 cm of height because of heavy browsing. This bottleneck effect led to the dominance of unpalatable species, mostly Norway spruce, reducing diversity during forest regeneration. If prolonged, this effect could lead to a reduction of tree species richness, with cascading effects on many parts of the ecosystem, and threatening the resilience of the forest to future disturbances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Impacts of Herbivory on Plant Communities)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-3
Back to TopTop