Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.

Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.

Herbivore alteration of litter inputs may change litter decomposition rates and influence ecosystem nutrient cycling. In a semiarid woodland at Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona, long-term insect herbivore removal experiments and the presence of herbivore resistant and susceptible pinyon pine...

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Main Authors: Chapman, Samantha K., Hart, Stephen C., Cobb, Neil S., Whitham, Thomas G., Koch, George W.
Format: Villanova Faculty Authorship
Language:English
Published: 2003
Online Access:http://ezproxy.villanova.edu/login?url=https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:175398
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spelling Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
Chapman, Samantha K.
Hart, Stephen C.
Cobb, Neil S.
Whitham, Thomas G.
Koch, George W.
Herbivore alteration of litter inputs may change litter decomposition rates and influence ecosystem nutrient cycling. In a semiarid woodland at Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona, long-term insect herbivore removal experiments and the presence of herbivore resistant and susceptible pinyon pines (Pinus edulis) have allowed characterization of the population- and community-level effects of herbivory. Here we report how these same two herbivores, the mesophyll-feeding scale insect Matsucoccus acalyptus and the stem-boring moth Dioryctria albovittella alter litter quality, dynamics, and decomposition in this ecosystem. We measured aboveground litterfall, litter chemical composition, and first-year litter decomposition rates for trees resistant and susceptible to both herbivores and for susceptible trees from which herbivores had been experimentally removed for 16–18 years. Both herbivores significantly increased nitrogen concentration and decreased lignin:nitrogen and carbon:nitrogen ratios of aboveground litter. Herbivory by scale insects also increased litter phosphorus concentration and annual needle litterfall mass. Consistent with its increased chemical quality, litter from herbivore-susceptible trees decomposed more rapidly in the first year. These results suggest that herbivory may increase nutrient cycling rates in this system by altering the chemical quality of litter, a mechanism that augments the nutrient acceleration hypothesis. The distribution of trees resistant and susceptible to the two herbivores at our site, and their associated variation in litter quality and decomposition, likely creates a mosaic of litter quality and nutrient cycling rates at the landscape scale. Further, because the differences in litter quality are associated with tree resistance and susceptibility traits, our findings are among the first to establish that intraspecific genetic variation may affect ecosystem function.
2003
Villanova Faculty Authorship
vudl:175398
Ecology 84(11), November 2003, 2867-2876.
en
dc.title_txt_mv Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
dc.creator_txt_mv Chapman, Samantha K.
Hart, Stephen C.
Cobb, Neil S.
Whitham, Thomas G.
Koch, George W.
dc.description_txt_mv Herbivore alteration of litter inputs may change litter decomposition rates and influence ecosystem nutrient cycling. In a semiarid woodland at Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona, long-term insect herbivore removal experiments and the presence of herbivore resistant and susceptible pinyon pines (Pinus edulis) have allowed characterization of the population- and community-level effects of herbivory. Here we report how these same two herbivores, the mesophyll-feeding scale insect Matsucoccus acalyptus and the stem-boring moth Dioryctria albovittella alter litter quality, dynamics, and decomposition in this ecosystem. We measured aboveground litterfall, litter chemical composition, and first-year litter decomposition rates for trees resistant and susceptible to both herbivores and for susceptible trees from which herbivores had been experimentally removed for 16–18 years. Both herbivores significantly increased nitrogen concentration and decreased lignin:nitrogen and carbon:nitrogen ratios of aboveground litter. Herbivory by scale insects also increased litter phosphorus concentration and annual needle litterfall mass. Consistent with its increased chemical quality, litter from herbivore-susceptible trees decomposed more rapidly in the first year. These results suggest that herbivory may increase nutrient cycling rates in this system by altering the chemical quality of litter, a mechanism that augments the nutrient acceleration hypothesis. The distribution of trees resistant and susceptible to the two herbivores at our site, and their associated variation in litter quality and decomposition, likely creates a mosaic of litter quality and nutrient cycling rates at the landscape scale. Further, because the differences in litter quality are associated with tree resistance and susceptibility traits, our findings are among the first to establish that intraspecific genetic variation may affect ecosystem function.
dc.date_txt_mv 2003
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dc.source_txt_mv Ecology 84(11), November 2003, 2867-2876.
dc.language_txt_mv en
author Chapman, Samantha K.
Hart, Stephen C.
Cobb, Neil S.
Whitham, Thomas G.
Koch, George W.
spellingShingle Chapman, Samantha K.
Hart, Stephen C.
Cobb, Neil S.
Whitham, Thomas G.
Koch, George W.
Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
author_facet Chapman, Samantha K.
Hart, Stephen C.
Cobb, Neil S.
Whitham, Thomas G.
Koch, George W.
dc_source_str_mv Ecology 84(11), November 2003, 2867-2876.
format Villanova Faculty Authorship
author_sort Chapman, Samantha K.
dc_date_str 2003
dc_title_str Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
description Herbivore alteration of litter inputs may change litter decomposition rates and influence ecosystem nutrient cycling. In a semiarid woodland at Sunset Crater National Monument, Arizona, long-term insect herbivore removal experiments and the presence of herbivore resistant and susceptible pinyon pines (Pinus edulis) have allowed characterization of the population- and community-level effects of herbivory. Here we report how these same two herbivores, the mesophyll-feeding scale insect Matsucoccus acalyptus and the stem-boring moth Dioryctria albovittella alter litter quality, dynamics, and decomposition in this ecosystem. We measured aboveground litterfall, litter chemical composition, and first-year litter decomposition rates for trees resistant and susceptible to both herbivores and for susceptible trees from which herbivores had been experimentally removed for 16–18 years. Both herbivores significantly increased nitrogen concentration and decreased lignin:nitrogen and carbon:nitrogen ratios of aboveground litter. Herbivory by scale insects also increased litter phosphorus concentration and annual needle litterfall mass. Consistent with its increased chemical quality, litter from herbivore-susceptible trees decomposed more rapidly in the first year. These results suggest that herbivory may increase nutrient cycling rates in this system by altering the chemical quality of litter, a mechanism that augments the nutrient acceleration hypothesis. The distribution of trees resistant and susceptible to the two herbivores at our site, and their associated variation in litter quality and decomposition, likely creates a mosaic of litter quality and nutrient cycling rates at the landscape scale. Further, because the differences in litter quality are associated with tree resistance and susceptibility traits, our findings are among the first to establish that intraspecific genetic variation may affect ecosystem function.
title Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
title_full Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
title_fullStr Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
title_full_unstemmed Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
title_short Insect Herbivory Increases Litter Quality and Decomposition: An Extension of the Acceleration Hypothesis.
title_sort insect herbivory increases litter quality and decomposition: an extension of the acceleration hypothesis.
publishDate 2003
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