TY - JOUR
T1 - Root herbivore effects on aboveground multitrophic interactions: Patterns, processes and mechanisms
AU - Soler, R.
AU - Van der Putten, W.H.
AU - Harvey, J.A.
AU - Vet, L.E.M.
AU - Dicke, M.
AU - Bezemer, T.M.
N1 - Reporting year: 2012
Metis note: 5289; WAG; TE
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - In terrestrial food webs, the study of multitrophic
interactions traditionally has focused on organisms that share
a common domain, mainly above ground. In the last two
decades, it has become clear that to further understand multitrophic
interactions, the barrier between the belowground and
aboveground domains has to be crossed. Belowground organisms
that are intimately associated with the roots of terrestrial
plants can influence the levels of primary and secondary
chemistry and biomass of aboveground plant parts. These
changes, in turn, influence the growth, development, and
survival of aboveground insect herbivores. The discovery that
soil organisms, which are usually out of sight and out of mind,
can affect plant-herbivore interactions aboveground raised the
question if and how higher trophic level organisms, such as
carnivores, could be influenced. At present, the study of
above-belowground interactions is evolving from interactions
between organisms directly associated with the plant roots and
shoots (e.g., root feeders - plant - foliar herbivores) to interactions
involving members of higher trophic levels (e.g., parasitoids),
as well as non-herbivorous organisms (e.g.,
decomposers, symbiotic plant mutualists, and pollinators).
This multitrophic approach linking above- and belowground
food webs aims at addressing interactions between plants,
herbivores, and carnivores in a more realistic community
setting. The ultimate goal is to understand the ecology and
evolution of species in communities and, ultimately how
community interactions contribute to the functioning of terrestrial
ecosystems. Here, we summarize studies on the effects
of root feeders on aboveground insect herbivores and parasitoids
and discuss if there are common trends.We discuss the
mechanisms that have been reported to mediate these effects,
from changes in concentrations of plant nutritional quality and
secondary chemistry to defense signaling. Finally, we discuss
how the traditional framework of fixed paired combinations of
root- and shoot-related organisms feeding on a common plant
can be transformed into a more dynamic and realistic framework
that incorporates community variation in species, densities,
space and time, in order to gain further insight in this
exciting and rapidly developing field.
AB - In terrestrial food webs, the study of multitrophic
interactions traditionally has focused on organisms that share
a common domain, mainly above ground. In the last two
decades, it has become clear that to further understand multitrophic
interactions, the barrier between the belowground and
aboveground domains has to be crossed. Belowground organisms
that are intimately associated with the roots of terrestrial
plants can influence the levels of primary and secondary
chemistry and biomass of aboveground plant parts. These
changes, in turn, influence the growth, development, and
survival of aboveground insect herbivores. The discovery that
soil organisms, which are usually out of sight and out of mind,
can affect plant-herbivore interactions aboveground raised the
question if and how higher trophic level organisms, such as
carnivores, could be influenced. At present, the study of
above-belowground interactions is evolving from interactions
between organisms directly associated with the plant roots and
shoots (e.g., root feeders - plant - foliar herbivores) to interactions
involving members of higher trophic levels (e.g., parasitoids),
as well as non-herbivorous organisms (e.g.,
decomposers, symbiotic plant mutualists, and pollinators).
This multitrophic approach linking above- and belowground
food webs aims at addressing interactions between plants,
herbivores, and carnivores in a more realistic community
setting. The ultimate goal is to understand the ecology and
evolution of species in communities and, ultimately how
community interactions contribute to the functioning of terrestrial
ecosystems. Here, we summarize studies on the effects
of root feeders on aboveground insect herbivores and parasitoids
and discuss if there are common trends.We discuss the
mechanisms that have been reported to mediate these effects,
from changes in concentrations of plant nutritional quality and
secondary chemistry to defense signaling. Finally, we discuss
how the traditional framework of fixed paired combinations of
root- and shoot-related organisms feeding on a common plant
can be transformed into a more dynamic and realistic framework
that incorporates community variation in species, densities,
space and time, in order to gain further insight in this
exciting and rapidly developing field.
KW - national
U2 - 10.1007/s10886-012-0104-z
DO - 10.1007/s10886-012-0104-z
M3 - Article
SN - 0098-0331
VL - 38
SP - 755
EP - 767
JO - Journal of Chemical Ecology
JF - Journal of Chemical Ecology
IS - 6
ER -