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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter

Published on: March 12, 2013

Tree diversity reduces herbivory by forest insects.

Hervé Jactel¹, Eckehard G Brockerhoff

¹INRA, UMR1202 Biodiversity, Genes & Communities, Laboratory of Forest Entomology and Biodiversity, Cestas Cedex, France. herve.jactel@pierroton.inra.fr

Ecology Letters

|August 1, 2007

Summary

Biodiversity loss impacts herbivores, with diverse forests reducing herbivory, especially by specialist insects. Forest composition, not just richness, influences these herbivory patterns.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Forestry
Conservation Biology

Background:

Biodiversity loss in plant communities is known to affect primary production.
The impact of plant diversity on herbivores remains less understood.
Understanding herbivore responses is crucial for ecosystem functioning.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of forest diversity on herbivory.
To compare herbivory rates in single-species versus mixed forests globally.
To identify factors influencing herbivory in diverse forest ecosystems.

Main Methods:

Conducted a meta-analysis of 119 worldwide studies.
Compared herbivory levels in monocultures and polycultures.
Analyzed the influence of insect host specificity and forest composition.

Main Results:

Diverse forests showed significantly reduced overall herbivory.
Herbivory reduction varied with insect host specificity (oligophagous vs. polyphagous).
Forest composition (taxonomic distance, non-host proportion) was more influential than species richness alone.

Conclusions:

Forest biodiversity plays a significant role in regulating herbivore activity.
Mixed forests can mitigate herbivory, with specific compositional traits being key.
Findings support biodiversity's importance across trophic levels in ecosystem functioning.