Impacts of urbanization on insect herbivory and plant defences in oak trees

Systematic comparisons of species interactions in urban versus rural environments can improve our understanding of shifts in ecological processes due to urbanization. However, such studies are relatively uncommon and the mechanisms driving urbanization effects on species interactions (e.g. between plants and insect herbivores) remain elusive. Here we investigated the effects of urbanization on leaf herbivory by insect chewers and miners associated with the English oak Quercus robur by sampling trees in rural and urban areas throughout most of the latitudinal distribution of this species. In performing these comparisons, we also controlled for the size of the urban areas (18 cities) and gathered data on CO emissions. In addition, we assessed whether urbanization affected leaf chemical defences (phenolic compounds) and nutritional traits (phosphorus and nitrogen), and whether such changes correlated with herbivory levels. Urbanization significantly reduced leaf chewer damage but did not affect leaf miners. In addition, we found that leaves from urban locations had lower levels of chemical defences (condensed and hydrolysable tannins) and higher levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) compared to leaves in rural locations. The magnitude of urbanization effects on herbivory and leaf defences was not contingent upon city size. Importantly, while the effects of urbanization on chemical defences were associated with CO emissions, changes in leaf chewer damage were not associated with either leaf traits or CO levels. These results suggest that effects of urbanization on herbivory occur through mechanisms other than changes in the plant traits measured here. Overall, our simultaneous assessment of insect herbivory, plant traits and abiotic correlates advances our understanding of the main drivers of urbanization effects on plant–herbivore interactions.This research was financially supported by a Spanish National Research Grant (AGL2015-70748-R), a Regional Government of Galicia Grant (IN607D 2016/001) and the Ramón y Cajal Research Programme (RYC-2013-13230).Peer reviewe

Impacts of urbanization on insect herbivory and plant defences in oak trees

Systematic comparisons of species interactions in urban versus rural environments can improve our understanding of shifts in ecological processes due to urbanization. However, such studies are relatively uncommon and the mechanisms driving urbanization effects on species interactions (e.g. between plants and insect herbivores) remain elusive. Here we investigated the effects of urbanization on leaf herbivory by insect chewers and miners associated with the English oak Quercus robur by sampling trees in rural and urban areas throughout most of the latitudinal distribution of this species. In performing these comparisons, we also controlled for the size of the urban areas (18 cities) and gathered data on CO 2 emissions. In addition, we assessed whether urbanization affected leaf chemical defences (phenolic compounds) and nutritional traits (phosphorus and nitrogen), and whether such changes correlated with herbivory levels. Urbanization significantly reduced leaf chewer damage but did not affect leaf miners. In addition, we found that leaves from urban locations had lower levels of chemical defences (condensed and hydrolysable tannins) and higher levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) compared to leaves in rural locations. The magnitude of urbanization effects on herbivory and leaf defences was not contingent upon city size. Importantly, while the effects of urbanization on chemical defences were associated with CO 2 emissions, changes in leaf chewer damage were not associated with either leaf traits or CO 2 levels. These results suggest that effects of urbanization on herbivory occur through mechanisms other than changes in the plant traits measured here. Overall, our simultaneous assessment of insect herbivory, plant traits and abiotic correlates advances our understanding of the main drivers of urbanization effects on plant–herbivore interactions.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

(Spatial structure of soil nutrients in a Pinus pinaster forest from Northwestern Iberian Peninsula)

La distribución heterogénea de recursos esenciales para el crecimiento de las plantas puede tener una importante influencia en el crecimiento de las plantas y en las interacciones competitivas entre individuos, condicionando la estructura y composición de la comunidad de plantas. En este trabajo se ha caracterizado la estructura espacial de la concentración de nitrógeno y fósforo inorgánicos en el suelo de un pinar gallego, mediante el uso de técnicas geoestadísticas. Los resultados obtenidos muestran la existencia de estructura espacial en la concentración de N-NH4 +, N-NO3 - y PO4 3- en el suelo del pinar, que explicó el 52%, 60% y 63% respectivamente, de la variación en la concentración de estos nutrientes en la parcela de estudio. Los rangos de dependencia espacial fueron de 13,3 m y 3,6 m para el N-NH4 + y el N-NO3 - respectivamente y de 8,6 m para el PO4 3-. Las diferentes estructuras espaciales observadas en los dos nutrientes estudiados posiblemente reflejan el diferente control en la disponibilidad de ambos nutrientes, sugiriendo que el N está controlado en gran medida por los procesos de mineralización y un aumento del control geoquímico en la disponibilidad de P. Las correlaciones con el contenido en humedad y materia orgánica del suelo apoyan esta hipótesis

Nutrient cycling and soil processes in terrestial ecosystems: specific nature of Mediterranean ecosystem and its implications for the soil-plant relationship

Los ecosistemas mediterráneos son clásicamente considerados como pobres en nutrientes. La disponibilidad de nutrientes para las plantas depende de varios mecanismos complejos y mutuamente dependientes. En primer lugar dependerá del retorno de necromasa al suelo, y de la eficiencia que las plantas muestren en la conservación de los nutrientes en sus tejidos, lo que va a determinar la cantidad y calidad de necromasa a descomponer y el equilibrio entre mineralización e inmovilización microbiana. En segundo lugar de las condiciones climáticas, cuyo elemento diferenciador en ecosistemas mediterráneos son los ciclos cortos y frecuentes de secado-rehumedecido. En este escenario, la inmovilización microbiana juega un papel crucial, y la posibilidad de que las plantas adquieran el temporalmente abundante nitrógeno orgánico disuelto es una posibilidad escasamente explorada. Por otra parte, las altas tasas de deposición atmosférica de N, junto con los cambios en temperatura y humedad como resultado del cambio global, plantean nuevos escenarios nutricionales para los ecosistemas mediterráneos.Mediterranean ecosystems are classically regarded as nutrient-poor ecosystems. Nutrient availability for plants depends on several complex and interacting mechanisms. First, nutrient availability will depend on leaf and root litterfall and other nutrient inputs processes (such as nutrient stemflow and throughfall). Plant strategies for nutrient conservation in their tissues will determine the litter quality, the decomposition rate, and finally the equilibrium between mineralization and immobilization in the microbial biomass. Secondly, nutrient availability for plant will depend on soil climatic conditions. As compared with other ecosystems, Mediterranean ecosystems are exposed to frequent and short drying-rewetting cycles. Under these conditions, rapid nutrient immobilization likely occurs, and the possibility of dissolved organic nitrogen uptake by plants, as observed in other nutrient-poor ecosystems, remains largely unexplored. Increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition, and changes in soil temperature and humidity as consequence of Global Change emerge new nutritional scenarios for Mediterranean ecosystems

Dissolved organic nitrogen in Mediterranean ecosystems

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in soils has recently gained increasing interest because it may be both a direct N source for plants and the dominant available N form in nutrient-poor soils, however, its prevalence in Mediterranean ecosystems remains unclear. The aims of this study were to i) estimate soil DON in a wide set of Mediterranean ecosystems and compare this levels with those for other ecosystems; ii) describe temporal changes in DON and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) forms (NH+4 and NO-3), and characterize spatial heterogeneity within plant communities; and iii) study the relative proportion of soil DON and DIN forms as a test of Schimel and Bennett's hypothesis that the prevalence of different N forms follows a gradient of nutrient availability. The study was carried out in eleven plant communities chosen to represent a wide spectrum of Mediterranean vegetation types, ranging from early to late successional status. DON concentrations in the studied Mediterranean plant communities (0-18.2 mg N kg -1) were consistently lower than those found in the literature for other ecosystems. We found high temporal and spatial variability in soil DON for all plant communities. As predicted by the Schimel and Bennett model for nutrient-poor ecosystems, DON dominance over ammonium and nitrate was observed for most plant communities in winter and spring soil samples. However, mineral-N dominated over DON in summer and autumn. Thus, soil water content may have an important effect on DON versus mineral N dominance in Mediterranean ecosystems. “NOTE: SOME OF THE SCIENTIFIC SYMBOLS CAN NOT BE REPRESENTED CORRECTLY IN THE ABSTRACT. PLEASE READ WITH CAUTION AND REFER TO THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE.

Biological soil crusts affect small-scale spatial patterns of inorganic N in a semiarid Mediterranean grassland

The influence of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on the small-scale spatial distribution of inorganic nitrogen (N) in drylands is largely unknown, despite their known impact and importance on the N cycle in these environments. We evaluated how perennial plants and BSCs affected small-scale spatial patterns of soil inorganic N (ammonium and nitrate) availability in a semiarid grassland from Spain. The data were analyzed by using geostatistical methods. The range of semivariograms for ammonium and nitrate, and the coefficient of variation of nitrate, were lower in BSC-dominated microsites than in plant-dominated microsites. Our results suggest that BSCs modulate the small-scale spatial pattern of inorganic N, producing more homogeneous conditions for spatial distribution of inorganic N forms than microsites provided by plants. These results may have important repercussions for the foraging strategies and ability of plant roots to uptake N

Spatial pattern and variability in soil N and P availability under the influence of two dominant species in a pine forest

The presence of a legume in a nitrogen (N)- limited forest ecosystem may not only create “islands of N fertility” but also affect the phosphorus (P) availability. The main objective of this study was to compare the effect of a pine (Pinus canariensis) and a leguminous (Adenocarpus viscosus) species on the spatial pattern and variability of different labile organic-N (microbial biomass-N [MB-N] and dissolved organic-N [DON]), as well as inorganic-N (IN) and –P fractions (NH4-N, NO3-N, and PO4-P), in a forest soil of the Canary Islands (Spain). Assuming some litter quantity and quality differences between these two species, we expected to find higher soil labile organic-N concentrations under isolated individuals of P. canariensis than under isolated individuals of A. viscosus. We also expected to find higher concentrations and spatial dependence (percentage of total variance explained by spatial autocorrelation) of NO3-N beneath A. viscosus than beneath P. canariensis canopies, and higher spatial scaling of soil variables under the influence of P. canariensis canopies than under the presence of A. viscosus individuals. Moreover, we tested whether the soil variables measured under isolated individuals of both species showed a different spatial variability than the same soil variables measured under overlapping pine canopies inside a pine forest. To test these hypotheses, soil samples under isolated mature individuals of each species were collected in the winter and summer, whereas under a pine forest canopy, the sampling was performed only in the winter. The winter MB-N and DON concentrations were significantly higher beneath the pine individual, whereas the winter NO3-N, NO3-N-to-IN ratio, and PO4-P were significantly higher under the leguminous individual; these differences were not observed in the summer samples. We found higher spatial ranges under the pine than under the legume canopy in the winter sampling, and the spatial dependence of NO3-N was twice as high beneath the legumes as under the pines at both sampling dates. The soil spatial variability was higher (up to 17 times higher) under isolated individuals than inside the pine forest. The results of this study suggest that both the morphological and physiological characteristics of P. canariensis and A. viscosus, as well as the spatial pattern of P. canariensis, may influence the spatial pattern and variability of soil resources