Plant diversity effects on herbivory are related to soil biodiversity and plant chemistry

GND
1253493049
ORCID
0000-0002-1446-977X
Affiliation
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
Ristok, Christian;
GND
1026825288
ORCID
0000-0003-1418-7788
Affiliation
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
Weinhold, Alexander;
ORCID
0000-0001-5296-7182
Affiliation
Institute of Biological Research Branch of the National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences Cluj‐Napoca Romania
Ciobanu, Marcel;
GND
1218565888
ORCID
0000-0002-6727-6891
Affiliation
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
Poeschl, Yvonne;
ORCID
0000-0001-9301-7909
Affiliation
Department of Physiological Diversity Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) Leipzig Germany
Roscher, Christiane;
GND
1204958947
ORCID
0000-0002-7397-2092
Affiliation
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
Vergara, Fredd;
ORCID
0000-0002-0371-6720
Affiliation
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
Eisenhauer, Nico;
GND
1214830226
ORCID
0000-0003-2622-5446
Affiliation
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig Leipzig Germany
van Dam, Nicole M.

Insect herbivory is a key process in ecosystem functioning. While theory predicts that plant diversity modulates herbivory, the mechanistic links remain unclear. We postulated that the plant metabolome mechanistically links plant diversity and herbivory. In late summer and in spring, we assessed individual plant above‐ground herbivory rates and metabolomes of seven plant species in experimental plant communities varying in plant species diversity and resource acquisition strategies. In the same communities, we also measured plant individual biomass as well as soil microbial and nematode community composition. Herbivory rates decreased with increasing plant species richness. Path modelling revealed that plant species richness and community resource acquisition strategy correlated with soil community composition. In particular, changes in nematode community composition were related to plant metabolome composition and thereby herbivory rates. Synthesis . These results suggest that soil community composition plays an important role in reducing herbivory rates with increasing plant diversity by changing plant metabolomes.

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License Holder: Journal of Ecology © 2023 British Ecological Society

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This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.