The interaction of plant genotype and herbivory decelerate leaf litter decomposition and alter nutrient dynamics

By J. Schweitzer, Joseph K. Bailey, S. Hart, G. Wimp, S. Chapman, T. Whitham. 2005

148 citations recorded by the source corpus.

145.We examined how plant genetic variation and a common herbivore (the leaf-gallingaphid, Pemphigus betae) influenced leaf litter quality, decomposition, and nutrientdynamics in a dominant riparian tree (Populus spp.). Based on both observationalstudies and a herbivore exclusion experiment using trees of known genotype, we foundfour major patterns: 1) the quality of galled vs non-galled or gall-excluded littersignificantly differed in the concentration of condensed tannins, lignin, nitrogen andphosphorus; 2) the difference in litter quality resulted in galled litter decomposing atrates 34 to 40% slower than non-galled litter; 3) plant genotype and herbivory hadsimilar effects on the magnitude of decomposition rate constants; and 4) plantgenotype mediated the herbivore effects on leaf litter quality and decomposition, asthere were genotype-specific responses to herbivory independent of herbivore density.In contrast to other studies that have demonstrated accelerated ecosystem properties inresponse to arthropod herbivory, our findings argue that herbivore-induced secondarycompounds decelerated ecosystem properties though their ‘‘after-life’’ effects on litterquality. Furthermore, these data are among the first to suggest that genotype-specificresponses to herbivores can have a major impact on decomposition and nutrient flux,which likely has important consequences for the spatial distribution of nutrients at thelandscape level. Due to the magnitude of these effects, we contend that it is importantto incorporate a genetic perspective into ecosystem studies.J. A. Schweitzer and S. C. Hart, School of Forestry, Box 15018, Northern ArizonaUniversity, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA (jennifer.schweitzer@nau.edu).

Subfields: Ecology, Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Nature and Landscape Conservation

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/8de8b3d11925df420c5f9e249c5d66f127bd7ac3

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Citations in the corpus

Functional Traits and Trait-Mediated Interactions: Connecting Community-Level Interactions with Ecosystem Functioning (2015, background): “…increased leaf toughness, chemical defences, C:N ratio), while the alternative syndrome is induced tolerance associated with changes in plant traits that are known to increase nutrient cycling in the presence of herbivores (Belovsky and Slade, 2000; Ritchie et al., 1998; Schweitzer et al., 2005).”
Herbivore‐induced indirect interaction webs on terrestrial plants: the importance of non‐trophic, indirect, and facilitative interactions (2008, background): “Variation in plant phenotypes and/or genotypes also has the potential to greatly influence ecosystem functions through direct and indirect interactions (Madritch & Hunter, 2002; Schweitzer et al., 2005 ).”
Deadly combination of genes and drought: increased mortality of herbivore‐resistant trees in a foundation species (2009, background): “Recent studies demonstrate that genetically-based plant traits can affect dependent communities (Wimp et al., 2004; Johnson & Agrawal, 2005; Crutsinger et al., 2006), and ecosystem processes (Treseder & Vitousek, 2001; Schweitzer et al., 2004, 2005; Crutsinger et al., 2006; Leroy et al., 2007).”