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1.
Science ; 386(6719): 335-340, 2024 Oct 18.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39418379

RESUMO

Human land-use intensification threatens arthropod (for example, insect and spider) biodiversity across aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Insects and spiders play critical roles in ecosystems by accumulating and synthesizing organic nutrients such as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). However, links between biodiversity and nutrient content of insect and spider communities have yet to be quantified. We relate insect and spider richness to biomass and PUFA-mass from stream and terrestrial communities encompassing nine land uses. PUFA-mass and biomass relate positively to biodiversity across ecosystems. In terrestrial systems, human-dominated areas have lower biomass and PUFA-mass than more natural areas, even at equivalent levels of richness. Aquatic ecosystems have consistently higher PUFA-mass than terrestrial ecosystems. Our findings reinforce the importance of conserving biodiversity and highlight the distinctive benefits of aquatic biodiversity.


Assuntos
Biodiversidade , Conservação dos Recursos Naturais , Ácidos Graxos Insaturados , Insetos , Nutrientes , Aranhas , Animais , Insetos/metabolismo , Nutrientes/análise , Nutrientes/metabolismo , Aranhas/metabolismo , Ácidos Graxos Insaturados/metabolismo
2.
Curr Biol ; 34(16): R753-R761, 2024 Aug 19.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39163831

RESUMO

Europe's semi-natural grasslands support notably high levels of temperate biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. However, these ecosystems face unique conservation challenges. Contemporary agricultural practices have replaced historical traditional low-intensity agriculture in many regions, resulting in a spectrum of management intensities within these ecosystems, ranging from highly intensive methods to complete abandonment. Paradoxically, both extremes along this spectrum of management intensity can be detrimental to biodiversity of semi-natural grasslands. Moreover, while anthropogenic climate change is an overarching threat to these ecosystems, rapid changes in land use and its intensity often present more immediate pressures. Often occurring at a faster rate than climate change itself, these land-use changes have the potential to rapidly impact the biodiversity of these grasslands. Here, we divide the ecological processes, threats, and developments to semi-natural grasslands into three sections. First, we examine the different impacts of agricultural intensification and abandonment on these ecosystems, considering their different consequences for biodiversity. Second, we review seminal works on various evidence-based management practices and offer a concise summary that provides support for various conservation and management strategies. However, the socio-economic factors that drive both abandonment and intensification in semi-natural grasslands can also be used to develop solutions through strategic governmental and non-governmental interventions. Accordingly, we conclude with a way forward by providing several key policy recommendations. By synthesizing existing knowledge and identifying research gaps, this essay aims to provide valuable insights for advancing the sustainable management of semi-natural grasslands.


Assuntos
Agricultura , Biodiversidade , Conservação dos Recursos Naturais , Pradaria , Conservação dos Recursos Naturais/métodos , Agricultura/métodos , Europa (Continente) , Mudança Climática
3.
Ecol Appl ; 34(6): e3022, 2024 Sep.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-39099295

RESUMO

Recent losses in the abundance and diversity of arthropods have been documented in many regions and ecosystems. In grasslands, such insect declines are largely attributed to land use, including modern machinery and mowing regimes. However, the effects of different mowing techniques on arthropods remain poorly understood. Using 11 years of data from 111 agricultural grassland plots across Germany, we analyzed the influence of various grassland management variables on the abundance and abundance-accounted species richness of four arthropod orders: Araneae, Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Orthoptera. The analysis focused on detailed mowing information, for example, days after mowing and mower type, and compared their effect with other aspects of grassland management, that is, rolling, leveling, fertilization, and grazing. We found strong negative effects of mowing on all four arthropod orders, with arthropod abundance being lowest directly after mowing and steadily increasing to three to seven times the abundance after 100 days post-mowing. Likewise, Hemiptera and Coleoptera species richness was 30% higher 100 days after mowing. Mower width showed a positive effect on Orthoptera abundance, but not on the other arthropods. Arthropod abundance and Coleoptera species richness were lowest when a mulcher was used compared to rotary or bar mowers. In addition to mowing, intensive grazing negatively affected Orthoptera abundance but not the other orders. Mowing represents a highly disturbing and iterative stressor with negative effects on arthropod abundance and diversity, likely contributed by mowing-induced mortality and habitat alteration. While modifications of mowing techniques such as mower type or mowing height and width may help to reduce the negative impact of mowing on arthropods, our results show that mowing itself has the most substantial negative effect. Based on our results, we suggest that reduced mowing frequency, omission of mowing in parts of the grassland (refuges), or extensive grazing instead of mowing have the greatest potential to promote arthropod populations.


Assuntos
Artrópodes , Pradaria , Animais , Artrópodes/fisiologia , Alemanha , Fatores de Tempo , Biodiversidade
4.
Environ Pollut ; 355: 124209, 2024 Aug 15.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38795821

RESUMO

Artificial Light at Night (ALAN) has been identified as a primary driver of environmental change in the 21st century with key impacts on ecosystems. At the same time, developments of LED lighting systems with adjustable parameters-such as color temperature and light intensity-may provide an opportunity to mitigate the negative effects of ALAN. To test the potential effects of LED properties, we conducted a comprehensive field study over two summers at three forest sites in Switzerland. We investigated the impact of three key attributes of LED lights (color temperature, brightness, and luminaire shape) on the abundance and community structure of ground-dwelling invertebrate functional groups (predators, omnivores, and detritivores). We found a significantly increased nocturnal attraction of omnivores (+275%) and predators (+70%), but not detritivores, to ALAN, altering arthropod community composition and trophic interactions in forests. LED color temperature and luminaire shape showed minimal effects on all three functional groups, while reducing light level from 100% to 50% attracted fewer individuals in all groups with a significant effect in omnivores (-57%). In addition, we observed significant interactions of color temperatures and luminaire shapes with light intensity, with a decrease in numbers when dimming the light to 50% intensity combined with a color temperature of 3700 K for predators (-53%), with diffusing luminaire shapes for omnivores (-77%) and with standard luminaire shape for detritivores (-27%). The predator-detritivore ratio showed a significant color temperature - light level interaction, with increased numbers of predators around streetlights with 3700 K and 100% intensity, resulting in an elevated top-down pressure on detritivores. These results suggest the importance of considering combined light characteristics in future outdoor lighting designs.


Assuntos
Florestas , Invertebrados , Luz , Iluminação , Animais , Invertebrados/fisiologia , Suíça , Ecossistema
5.
PLoS One ; 19(5): e0304421, 2024.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38820267

RESUMO

Forest birds respond to a diverse set of environmental factors, including those altered by forest management intensity, such as resource and habitat availability in the form of food or nesting sites. Although resource/habitat availability and bird traits likely mediate responses of bird diversity to global change drivers, no study has assessed the direct and indirect effects of changes in forest management and traits on bird assemblages jointly at large spatial scales. In this context the questions remain whether (1) the birds' response to forest management changes through alterations in structural properties and/or food availability, or (2) if birds' eco-morphological traits act as environmental filters in response to environmental factors. We audio-visually recorded birds at 150 forest plots in three regions of Germany and assessed the forest structure (LiDAR) as well as the diversity of the herbaceous layer and diversity and biomass of arthropods. We further assessed eco-morphological traits of the birds and tested if effects on bird assemblages are mediated by changes in eco-morphological traits' composition. We found that abundance and species numbers of birds are explained best by models including the major environmental factors, forest structure, plants, and arthropods. Eco-morphological traits only increased model fit for indirect effects on abundance of birds. We found minor differences between the three regions in Germany, indicating spatial congruency of the processes at the local and regional scale. Our results suggest that most birds are not specialized on a particular food type, but that the size, diversity and species composition of arthropods are important. Our findings question the general view that bird traits adapt to the resources available.


Assuntos
Artrópodes , Aves , Florestas , Animais , Aves/fisiologia , Alemanha , Artrópodes/fisiologia , Biodiversidade , Ecossistema , Plantas
6.
New Phytol ; 242(6): 2495-2509, 2024 Jun.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38641748

RESUMO

Extreme droughts can have long-lasting effects on forest community dynamics and species interactions. Yet, our understanding of how drought legacy modulates ecological relationships is just unfolding. We tested the hypothesis that leaf chemistry and herbivory show long-term responses to premature defoliation caused by an extreme drought event in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.). For two consecutive years after the extreme European summer drought in 2018, we collected leaves from the upper and lower canopy of adjacently growing drought-stressed and unstressed trees. Leaf chemistry was analyzed and leaf damage by different herbivore-feeding guilds was quantified. We found that drought had lasting impacts on leaf nutrients and on specialized metabolomic profiles. However, drought did not affect the primary metabolome. Drought-related phytochemical changes affected damage of leaf-chewing herbivores whereas damage caused by other herbivore-feeding guilds was largely unaffected. Drought legacy effects on phytochemistry and herbivory were often weaker than between-year or between-canopy strata variability. Our findings suggest that a single extreme drought event bears the potential to long-lastingly affect tree-herbivore interactions. Drought legacy effects likely become more important in modulating tree-herbivore interactions since drought frequency and severity are projected to globally increase in the coming decades.


Assuntos
Secas , Fagus , Herbivoria , Compostos Fitoquímicos , Folhas de Planta , Fagus/fisiologia , Herbivoria/fisiologia , Folhas de Planta/fisiologia , Animais , Metaboloma
7.
J Anim Ecol ; 93(5): 540-553, 2024 05.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38509643

RESUMO

Understanding how anthropogenic activities induce changes in the functional traits of arthropod communities is critical to assessing their ecological consequences. However, we largely lack comprehensive assessments of the long-term impact of global-change drivers on the trait composition of arthropod communities across a large number of species and sites. This knowledge gap critically hampers our ability to predict human-driven impacts on communities and ecosystems. Here, we use a dataset of 1.73 million individuals from 877 species to study how four functionally important traits of carabid beetles and spiders (i.e. body size, duration of activity period, tolerance to drought, and dispersal capacity) have changed at the community level across ~40 years in different types of land use and as a consequence of land use changes (that is, urbanisation and loss of woody vegetation) at the landscape scale in Switzerland. The results show that the mean body size in carabid communities declined in all types of land use, with particularly stronger declines in croplands compared to forests. Furthermore, the length of the activity period and the tolerance to drought of spider communities decreased in most land use types. The average body size of carabid communities in landscapes with increased urbanisation in the last ~40 years tended to decrease. However, the length of the activity period, the tolerance to drought, and the dispersal capacity did not change significantly. Furthermore, urbanisation promoted increases in the average dispersal capacities of spider communities. Additionally, urbanisation favoured spider communities with larger body sizes and longer activity periods. The loss of woody areas at the landscape level was associated with trait shifts to carabid communities with larger body sizes, shorter activity periods, higher drought tolerances and strongly decreased dispersal capacities. Decreases in activity periods and dispersal capacities were also found in spider communities. Our study demonstrates that human-induced changes in land use alter key functional traits of carabid and spider communities in the long term. The detected trait shifts in arthropod communities likely have important consequences for their functional roles in ecosystems.


Assuntos
Aranhas , Animais , Aranhas/fisiologia , Suíça , Besouros/fisiologia , Tamanho Corporal , Urbanização , Ecossistema , Secas , Artrópodes/fisiologia , Florestas
8.
ISME J ; 18(1)2024 Jan 08.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38519103

RESUMO

Deadwood provides habitat for fungi and serves diverse ecological functions in forests. We already have profound knowledge of fungal assembly processes, physiological and enzymatic activities, and resulting physico-chemical changes during deadwood decay. However, in situ detection and identification methods, fungal origins, and a mechanistic understanding of the main lignocellulolytic enzymes are lacking. This study used metaproteomics to detect the main extracellular lignocellulolytic enzymes in 12 tree species in a temperate forest that have decomposed for 8 ½ years. Mainly white-rot (and few brown-rot) Basidiomycota were identified as the main wood decomposers, with Armillaria as the dominant genus; additionally, several soft-rot xylariaceous Ascomycota were identified. The key enzymes involved in lignocellulolysis included manganese peroxidase, peroxide-producing alcohol oxidases, laccase, diverse glycoside hydrolases (cellulase, glucosidase, xylanase), esterases, and lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases. The fungal community and enzyme composition differed among the 12 tree species. Ascomycota species were more prevalent in angiosperm logs than in gymnosperm logs. Regarding lignocellulolysis as a function, the extracellular enzyme toolbox acted simultaneously and was interrelated (e.g. peroxidases and peroxide-producing enzymes were strongly correlated), highly functionally redundant, and present in all logs. In summary, our in situ study provides comprehensive and detailed insight into the enzymatic machinery of wood-inhabiting fungi in temperate tree species. These findings will allow us to relate changes in environmental factors to lignocellulolysis as an ecosystem function in the future.


Assuntos
Ascomicetos , Basidiomycota , Madeira/microbiologia , Ecossistema , Árvores , Basidiomycota/fisiologia , Peróxidos/metabolismo , Fungos
9.
Nat Commun ; 15(1): 1921, 2024 Mar 01.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38429327

RESUMO

Rising temperatures are leading to increased prevalence of warm-affinity species in ecosystems, known as thermophilisation. However, factors influencing variation in thermophilisation rates among taxa and ecosystems, particularly freshwater communities with high diversity and high population decline, remain unclear. We analysed compositional change over time in 7123 freshwater and 6201 terrestrial, mostly temperate communities from multiple taxonomic groups. Overall, temperature change was positively linked to thermophilisation in both realms. Extirpated species had lower thermal affinities in terrestrial communities but higher affinities in freshwater communities compared to those persisting over time. Temperature change's impact on thermophilisation varied with community body size, thermal niche breadth, species richness and baseline temperature; these interactive effects were idiosyncratic in the direction and magnitude of their impacts on thermophilisation, both across realms and taxonomic groups. While our findings emphasise the challenges in predicting the consequences of temperature change across communities, conservation strategies should consider these variable responses when attempting to mitigate climate-induced biodiversity loss.


Assuntos
Biodiversidade , Ecossistema , Animais , Tamanho Corporal , Clima , Água Doce
10.
Ecol Evol ; 14(2): e10928, 2024 Feb.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38371870

RESUMO

Global warming is affecting the phenological cycles of plants and animals, altering the complex synchronization that has co-evolved over thousands of years between interacting species and trophic levels. Here, we examined how warmer winter conditions affect the timing of budburst in six common European trees and the hatching of a generalist leaf-feeding insect, the spongy moth Lymantria dispar, whose fitness depends on the synchrony between egg hatch and leaf emergence of the host tree. We applied four different temperature treatments to L. dispar eggs and twig cuttings, that mimicked warmer winters and reduced chilling temperatures that are necessary for insect diapause and bud dormancy release, using heated open-top chambers (ambient or +3.5°C), and heated greenhouses (maintained at >6°C or >10°C). In addition, we conducted preference and performance tests to determine which tree species the larvae prefer and benefit from the most. Budburst success and twig survival were highest for all tree species at ambient temperature conditions, whereas it declined under elevated winter temperature for Tilia cordata and Acer pseudoplatanus, likely due to a lack of chilling. While L. dispar egg hatch coincided with budburst in most tree species within 10 days under ambient conditions, it coincided with budburst only in Quercus robur, Carpinus betulus, and, to a lesser extent, Ulmus glabra under warmer conditions. With further warming, we, therefore, expect an increasing mismatch in trees with high chilling requirements, such as Fagus sylvatica and A. pseudoplatanus, but still good synchronization with trees having low chilling requirements, such as Q. robur and C. betulus. Surprisingly, first instar larvae preferred and gained weight faster when fed with leaves of F. sylvatica, while Q. robur ranked second. Our results suggest that spongy moth outbreaks are likely to persist in oak and hornbeam forests in western and central Europe.

11.
Nat Commun ; 15(1): 1251, 2024 Feb 10.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38341437

RESUMO

Organismal functional strategies form a continuum from slow- to fast-growing organisms, in response to common drivers such as resource availability and disturbance. However, whether there is synchronisation of these strategies at the entire community level is unclear. Here, we combine trait data for >2800 above- and belowground taxa from 14 trophic guilds spanning a disturbance and resource availability gradient in German grasslands. The results indicate that most guilds consistently respond to these drivers through both direct and trophically mediated effects, resulting in a 'slow-fast' axis at the level of the entire community. Using 15 indicators of carbon and nutrient fluxes, biomass production and decomposition, we also show that fast trait communities are associated with faster rates of ecosystem functioning. These findings demonstrate that 'slow' and 'fast' strategies can be manifested at the level of whole communities, opening new avenues of ecosystem-level functional classification.


Assuntos
Biodiversidade , Ecossistema , Biomassa , Agricultura , Solo
12.
Sci Data ; 10(1): 680, 2023 10 05.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37798274

RESUMO

European ash, Fraxinus excelsior is facing the double threat of ongoing devastation by the invasive fungal pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus and the imminent arrival of the non-native emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis. The spread of EAB which is currently moving westwards from European Russia and Ukraine into central Europe, poses an additional substantial threat to European ash, F. excelsior. While the molecular basis for resistance or variation in resistance among European ash genotypes is heavily investigated, comparatively little is known about the molecular ash traits involved in resistance against EAB. In this study we have gathered transcriptomic data from EAB inoculated genotypes of F. excelsior that have previously shown different levels of susceptibility to EAB. Resultant datasets show differential gene expression in susceptible and resistant genotypes in response to EAB infestation. This data will provide important information on the molecular basis of resistance to the EAB and allow the development of management plans to combat a pending threat of a culturally and ecologically important European tree species.


Assuntos
Besouros , Fraxinus , Transcriptoma , Animais , Fraxinus/genética , Perfilação da Expressão Gênica , Genótipo
13.
Sci Rep ; 13(1): 11570, 2023 07 18.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37463904

RESUMO

Non-native pests, climate change, and their interactions are likely to alter relationships between trees and tree-associated organisms with consequences for forest health. To understand and predict such changes, factors structuring tree-associated communities need to be determined. Here, we analysed the data consisting of records of insects and fungi collected from dormant twigs from 155 tree species at 51 botanical gardens or arboreta in 32 countries. Generalized dissimilarity models revealed similar relative importance of studied climatic, host-related and geographic factors on differences in tree-associated communities. Mean annual temperature, phylogenetic distance between hosts and geographic distance between locations were the major drivers of dissimilarities. The increasing importance of high temperatures on differences in studied communities indicate that climate change could affect tree-associated organisms directly and indirectly through host range shifts. Insect and fungal communities were more similar between closely related vs. distant hosts suggesting that host range shifts may facilitate the emergence of new pests. Moreover, dissimilarities among tree-associated communities increased with geographic distance indicating that human-mediated transport may serve as a pathway of the introductions of new pests. The results of this study highlight the need to limit the establishment of tree pests and increase the resilience of forest ecosystems to changes in climate.


Assuntos
Ecossistema , Micobioma , Animais , Humanos , Filogenia , Florestas , Geografia , Mudança Climática , Insetos
14.
Trends Ecol Evol ; 38(9): 788-791, 2023 09.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37331912

RESUMO

Loss of insect biodiversity is widespread, and in forests habitat loss is one of the major drivers responsible. Integrative forest management must consider the preservation and promotion of key habitat features that provide essential microhabitats and resources to conserve biodiversity alongside ecosystem functions and services.


Assuntos
Conservação dos Recursos Naturais , Ecossistema , Animais , Florestas , Biodiversidade , Insetos
15.
New Phytol ; 240(3): 1219-1232, 2023 11.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37345294

RESUMO

Plants rely on cross-resistance traits to defend against multiple, phylogenetically distinct enemies. These traits are often the result of long co-evolutionary histories. Biological invasions can force naïve plants to cope with novel, coincident pests, and pathogens. For example, European ash (Fraxinus excelsior) is substantially threatened by the emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, a wood-boring beetle, and the ash dieback (ADB) pathogen, Hymenoscyphus fraxineus. Yet, plant cross-resistance traits against novel enemies are poorly explored and it is unknown whether naïve ash trees can defend against novel enemy complexes via cross-resistance mechanisms. To gain mechanistic insights, we quantified EAB performance on grafted replicates of ash genotypes varying in ADB resistance and characterized ash phloem chemistry with targeted and untargeted metabolomics. Emerald ash borer performed better on ADB-susceptible than on ADB-resistant genotypes. Moreover, changes in EAB performance aligned with differences in phloem chemical profiles between ADB-susceptible and ADB-resistant genotypes. We show that intraspecific variation in phloem chemistry in European ash can confer increased cross-resistance to invasive antagonists from different taxonomic kingdoms. Our study suggests that promotion of ADB-resistant ash genotypes may simultaneously help to control the ADB disease and reduce EAB-caused ash losses, which may be critical for the long-term stability of this keystone tree species.


Assuntos
Besouros , Fraxinus , Animais , Fraxinus/genética , Metabolômica , Genótipo , Larva
16.
Ecol Lett ; 26(7): 1157-1173, 2023 Jul.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37156097

RESUMO

The species-energy hypothesis predicts increasing biodiversity with increasing energy in ecosystems. Proxies for energy availability are often grouped into ambient energy (i.e., solar radiation) and substrate energy (i.e., non-structural carbohydrates or nutritional content). The relative importance of substrate energy is thought to decrease with increasing trophic level from primary consumers to predators, with reciprocal effects of ambient energy. Yet, empirical tests are lacking. We compiled data on 332,557 deadwood-inhabiting beetles of 901 species reared from wood of 49 tree species across Europe. Using host-phylogeny-controlled models, we show that the relative importance of substrate energy versus ambient energy decreases with increasing trophic levels: the diversity of zoophagous and mycetophagous beetles was determined by ambient energy, while non-structural carbohydrate content in woody tissues determined that of xylophagous beetles. Our study thus overall supports the species-energy hypothesis and specifies that the relative importance of ambient temperature increases with increasing trophic level with opposite effects for substrate energy.


Assuntos
Besouros , Ecossistema , Animais , Árvores , Madeira , Biodiversidade , Europa (Continente)
17.
Funct Ecol ; 37(1): 150-161, 2023 Jan.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37064507

RESUMO

Climate, topography and the 3D structure of forests are major drivers affecting local species communities. However, little is known about how the specific functional traits of saproxylic (wood-living) beetles, involved in the recycling of wood, might be affected by those environmental characteristics.Here, we combine ecological and morphological traits available for saproxylic beetles and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data in Bayesian trait-based joint species distribution models to study how traits drive the distributions of more than 230 species in temperate forests of Europe.We found that elevation (as a proxy for temperature and precipitation) and the proportion of conifers played important roles in species occurrences while variables related to habitat heterogeneity and forest complexity were less relevant. Furthermore, we showed that local communities were shaped by environmental variation primarily through their ecological traits whereas morphological traits were involved only marginally. As predicted, ecological traits influenced species' responses to forest structure, and to other environmental variation, with canopy niche, wood decay niche and host preference as the most important ecological traits. Conversely, no links between morphological traits and environmental characteristics were observed. Both models, however, revealed strong phylogenetic signal in species' response to environmental characteristics.These findings imply that alterations of climate and tree species composition have the potential to alter saproxylic beetle communities in temperate forests. Additionally, ecological traits help explain species' responses to environmental characteristics and thus should prove useful in predicting their responses to future change. It remains challenging, however, to link simple morphological traits to species' complex ecological niches. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

18.
Commun Biol ; 6(1): 338, 2023 04 04.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37016087

RESUMO

Insects are declining, but the underlying drivers and differences in responses between species are still largely unclear. Despite the importance of forests, insect trends therein have received little attention. Using 10 years of standardized data (120,996 individuals; 1,805 species) from 140 sites in Germany, we show that declines occurred in most sites and species across trophic groups. In particular, declines (quantified as the correlation between year and the respective community response) were more consistent in sites with many non-native trees or a large amount of timber harvested before the onset of sampling. Correlations at the species level depended on species' life-history. Larger species, more abundant species, and species of higher trophic level declined most, while herbivores increased. This suggests potential shifts in food webs possibly affecting ecosystem functioning. A targeted management, including promoting more natural tree species composition and partially reduced harvesting, can contribute to mitigating declines.


Assuntos
Ecossistema , Florestas , Humanos , Animais , Árvores/fisiologia , Insetos , Cadeia Alimentar
20.
Oecologia ; 201(3): 813-825, 2023 Mar.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-36869183

RESUMO

Arthropods respond to vegetation in multiple ways since plants provide habitat and food resources and indicate local abiotic conditions. However, the relative importance of these factors for arthropod assemblages is less well understood. We aimed to disentangle the effects of plant species composition and environmental drivers on arthropod taxonomic composition and to assess which aspects of vegetation contribute to the relationships between plant and arthropod assemblages. In a multi-scale field study in Southern Germany, we sampled vascular plants and terrestrial arthropods in typical habitats of temperate landscapes. We compared independent and shared effects of vegetation and abiotic predictors on arthropod composition distinguishing between four large orders (Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera), and five functional groups (herbivores, pollinators, predators, parasitoids, detritivores). Across all investigated groups, plant species composition explained the major fraction of variation in arthropod composition, while land-cover composition was another important predictor. Moreover, the local habitat conditions depicted by the indicator values of the plant communities were more important for arthropod composition than trophic relationships between certain plant and arthropod species. Among trophic groups, predators showed the strongest response to plant species composition, while responses of herbivores and pollinators were stronger than those of parasitoids and detritivores. Our results highlight the relevance of plant community composition for terrestrial arthropod assemblages across multiple taxa and trophic levels and emphasize the value of plants as a proxy for characterizing habitat conditions that are hardly accessible to direct environmental measurements.


Assuntos
Artrópodes , Besouros , Animais , Artrópodes/fisiologia , Biodiversidade , Ecossistema , Herbivoria , Plantas
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