• DOI:10.1007/978-3-540-72954-9_17
• Corpus ID: 83092044

Plant Herbivore Interactions at the Forest Edge

@inproceedings{Wirth2008PlantHI,
  title={Plant Herbivore Interactions at the Forest Edge},
  author={Rainer Wirth and Sebastian T. Meyer and Inara Roberta Leal and Marcelo Tabarelli},
  year={2008}
}

• R. Wirth, S. Meyer, +1 author M. Tabarelli
• Published 2008
• Environmental Science

An ever-increasing proportion of the global forested landscape is in close proximity to edges and edge effects have been shown to represent key forces affecting both organisms and ecological processes. Despite increasing recognition of edge effects on species interactions, a systematic review devoted to plant- herbivore interactions along forest edges has not yet been performed. Here we syn- thesize published research attempting to detect patterns of herbivore densities and herbivory at forest edges, identify the underlying mechanisms generating these patterns, and explore their potential impacts for the forest edge as an ecosystem. Key conclusions are that herbivores, especially generalists, profoundly benefit from forest edges, often due to favourable microenvironmental conditions, an edge-induced increase in food quantity/quality, and (less well documented) disrupted top-down regulation of herbivores. Finally, we present evidence and causal explanations that edge-associated herbivores, via a range of direct and indirect impacts, may alter species interactions, delay successional processes at the edge, and amplify the often human-induced changes on forest biota.