Herbivory is crucial to forest community dynamics and may be particularly sensitive to urbanization, especially in tropical regions; however, limited data exist on herbivory patterns within urbanized tropical areas. Given the negative impacts of urbanization on urban vegetation, planting native tree species is a promising strategy for recovering biodiversity and ecosystem functions in urban ecosystems, including plant-herbivore interactions. This study examines whether herbivory levels and damage types vary among tree species in enrichment plantings at different forest types (urban and peri-urban), the effect of environmental factors on these patterns, and the influence of herbivory levels, forest types, and environmental factors on sapling survival. We assessed insect herbivory on sapling transplants of eight intermediate- and late-successional tree species across urban and peri-urban forests within a highly diverse tropical montane cloud forest landscape of Veracruz, Mexico. Herbivory in the studied saplings was 11.0%. Herbivory levels were lower in urban (10.2%) than in peri-urban forests (11.5%) and increased with elevation and soil phosphorus. Chewing damage was significantly higher than mining damage (81.8% vs. 3.7%, respectively), with no differences between urban and peri-urban forests, and there was no effect of environmental variables on the percentage of leaf damage by different types of herbivores. Herbivory varied among tree species (6.8–16.2%) and did not impact sapling survival. These results enhance our understanding of the effects of urbanization on herbivory patterns in sapling transplants and give information on the management of native cloud forest tree species for restoration efforts in urbanized areas.
Herbivory patterns in enrichment plantings at urban and peri-urban tropical montane cloud forests
Ulian, Tiziana;
2025-01-01
Abstract
Herbivory is crucial to forest community dynamics and may be particularly sensitive to urbanization, especially in tropical regions; however, limited data exist on herbivory patterns within urbanized tropical areas. Given the negative impacts of urbanization on urban vegetation, planting native tree species is a promising strategy for recovering biodiversity and ecosystem functions in urban ecosystems, including plant-herbivore interactions. This study examines whether herbivory levels and damage types vary among tree species in enrichment plantings at different forest types (urban and peri-urban), the effect of environmental factors on these patterns, and the influence of herbivory levels, forest types, and environmental factors on sapling survival. We assessed insect herbivory on sapling transplants of eight intermediate- and late-successional tree species across urban and peri-urban forests within a highly diverse tropical montane cloud forest landscape of Veracruz, Mexico. Herbivory in the studied saplings was 11.0%. Herbivory levels were lower in urban (10.2%) than in peri-urban forests (11.5%) and increased with elevation and soil phosphorus. Chewing damage was significantly higher than mining damage (81.8% vs. 3.7%, respectively), with no differences between urban and peri-urban forests, and there was no effect of environmental variables on the percentage of leaf damage by different types of herbivores. Herbivory varied among tree species (6.8–16.2%) and did not impact sapling survival. These results enhance our understanding of the effects of urbanization on herbivory patterns in sapling transplants and give information on the management of native cloud forest tree species for restoration efforts in urbanized areas.
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