Journal Article

The impact of insect herbivory on biogeochemical cycling in broadleaved forests varies with temperature

Calvo-Alvarado, Julio C., Dargie, Greta C., Lobos-Catalán, Paulina, Filippova, Nina, Malhi, Yadvinder, Mumladze, Levan, Zagidullina, Asiia, Galiano-Cabrera, Darcy F., Walsh, Seana K., Hwang, Bernice C., Suspense, Ifo A., Lewis, Simon L., Stępniak, Kinga M., Hemp, Claudia, Šamonil, Pavel, Jiménez-Castillo, Mylthon, Johnson, Nels G., Barrios-Garcia, M. Noelia, Adu-Bredu, Stephen, Gaglianese-Woody, Morgan, Francisco, Kainana S., Petritan, Ion Catalin, Moritz, Ruslan, Giardina, Christian P., Xu, Han, Huasco, Walter Huaraca, Rordriguez-Cabal, Mariano A., Metcalfe, Daniel B., Plyusnin, Sergey, Hemp, Andreas, Lyatuu, Herman, Puma Vilca, Beisit L., Mbemba, M., Ivanov, Aleksandr V., Kuijper, Dries P. J., Churski, Marcin, Ngute, Alain Senghor K., Mampouya Wenina, Y. E., Marshall, Andrew R., Rodríguez-Solís, Maria, Diao, Haoyu, Kaswamila, Mgeta Adidas, Palma, Ana C., Materu, Brayan, Duboscq-Carra, Virginia G., Iankoshvili, Giorgi, Andersson, Tommi, Gage, Shelley A., Orang, Karma

2024

Overview

Herbivorous insects alter biogeochemical cycling within forests, but the magnitude of these impacts, their global variation, and drivers of this variation remain poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap and help improve biogeochemical models, we established a global network of 74 plots within 40 mature, undisturbed broadleaved forests. We analyzed freshly senesced and green leaves for carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and silica concentrations, foliar production and herbivory, and stand-level nutrient fluxes. We show more nutrient release by insect herbivores at non-outbreak levels in tropical forests than temperate and boreal forests, that these fluxes increase strongly with mean annual temperature, and that they exceed atmospheric deposition inputs in some localities. Thus, background levels of insect herbivory are sufficiently large to both alter ecosystem element cycling and influence terrestrial carbon cycling. Further, climate can affect interactions between natural populations of plants and herbivores with important consequences for global biogeochemical cycles across broadleaved forests. This study examines the impact of herbivorous insects on biogeochemical cycling within forests. From a global network of 74 plots within 40 mature, undisturbed broadleaved forests, they show that background levels of insect herbivory are sufficiently large to alter both ecosystem element cycling and influence terrestrial carbon cycling.

• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK,Nature Publishing Group,Nature Portfolio
• Subject: 631/158/2445 / 631/158/47/4112 / Agricultural and Veterinary sciences / Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries / Animals / Background levels / Biogeochemical cycles / Biogeochemistry / Boreal forests / Carbon / Carbon - metabolism / Carbon Cycle / Ecosystem / Fluxes / Forest Science / Forests / Herbivores / Herbivory / Herbivory - physiology / Humanities and Social Sciences / Insecta - physiology / Insects / Jordbruk, skogsbruk och fiske / Lantbruksvetenskap och veterinärmedicin / multidisciplinary / Natural populations / Nitrogen - metabolism / Nutrient concentrations / Nutrient release / Pest outbreaks / Phosphorus - metabolism / Plant Leaves - metabolism / Population studies / Science / Science (multidisciplinary) / Silica / Skogsvetenskap / Temperature / Trees - metabolism / Tropical forests