Forests and climate change - lessons from insects

By A. Battisti. 2008

93 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract: The climate change may indirectly affects the forest ecosystems through the activity of phytophagous insects. The climate change has been claimed to be responsible of the range expansion northward and upward of several insect species of northern temperate forests, as well as of changes in the seasonal phenology. Several papers have dealt with the prediction of the most likely consequences of the climate change on the phytophagous insects, including some of the most important forest pests. Increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere involve an increase of the C/N balance of the plant tissues, which in turn results in a lower food quality for many defoliating insects. Some insects respond by increasing the level of leaf consumption and consequently the damage to the tree, whereas others show higher mortality and lower performance. The level of plant chemical defences may also be affected by a change of CO2. The temperature is affecting either the survival of the insects which are active during the cold period, such as the pine processionary moth, or the synchronization mechanism between the host and the herbivores, as in the case of the larch bud moth. An increase of temperature may alter the mechanism by which the insects adjust their cycles to the local climate (diapause), resulting in faster development and higher feeding rate, as in the case of the spruce web-spinning sawfly outbreaks in the Southern Alps.

Subfields: Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Global and Planetary Change

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0a9dda731b2cf208857a06ae576654b90e207701

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In Ecology

In Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

In Global and Planetary Change

Citations in the corpus

Ecological limits to plant phenotypic plasticity. (2007, background): “Warmer temperatures differentially affect co-existing species and alter the synchronizations among plants, herbivores and other interacting animals (Battisti, 2004).”
Forest pathogens with higher damage potential due to climate change in Europe (2008, background): “An increase of temperature may alter the mechanism by which the insects adjust their cycles to the local climate (diapause), resulting in faster development and higher spread of the pathogen (Battisti 2008).”
Climate Change and Range Shifts in Two Insect Defoliators: Gypsy Moth and Nun Moth - a Model Study (2007, background): “…leading to multivoltinism, absence of extreme temperatures in winter that diminish population levels and possible shifts to novel host plants (Liebhold et al. 1995; Ayres and Lombardero 2000, Volney and Fleming 2000, Battisti 2004, Veteli et al. 2005, Battisti et al. 2006, Stastny et al. 2006).”
The effect of temperature and humidity changes on insects development their impact on forest ecosystems in the expected climate change (2013, background): “Northern and southern range shift is predicted with regard to many insect species towards higher altitude and elevation (Pawłowski 1995; Parmesan 1996; Walther et al. 2002; Parmesan, Yohe 2003; Menéndez 2007; Battisti 2008).”
Endophytes vs tree pathogens and pests: can they be used as biological control agents to improve tree health? (2019, background): “Climate change may also change the lifecycles and feeding behaviour of phytophagous insects, with vector-mediated impacts on tree disease spread (Battisti 2008).”