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Temporal and spatial variations in leaf herbivory within a canopy of Fagus crenata

  • Plant Animal Interactions
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Abstract

This study investigated spatio-temporal variation in the leaf area consumed by insect herbivores within a canopy of Fagus crenata, with reference to the light conditions of leaf clusters. There was no clear relationship between photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and consumed leaf area (CLA) in May, immediately after leaf flush, but CLA decreased with an increase in PPFD after June. Leaf mass per area, carbon concentration, C/N ratio, concentration of total phenolics, and condensed tannin concentration were higher in leaves under high light intensity than those of leaves under low light. On the other hand, the nitrogen concentration of leaves decreased as light availability increased. Consequently, within-tree variation in light availability affects the consumption of leaves by insect herbivores through temporal changes in leaf characteristics.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all staff members of the University Forest in Ashiu, Kyoto University, for enabling the investigation herein described. We are also grateful to all members of the Laboratory of Forest Biology, Kyoto University, Dr. Michinori Sakimoto of the Kyoto University Forest, and Dr. Shizuo Suzuki of the Institute for Environmental Sciences for their very valuable help, advice, and encouragement during the work. This work was supported by a Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research on Priority Areas from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, of Japan (No. 11213202) and a Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (No. 12304047).

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  1. Laboratory of Forest Biology, Division of Forest and Biomaterials Science, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwake-Cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8502, Kyoto, Japan

    Michimasa Yamasaki & Kihachiro Kikuzawa

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  1. Michimasa Yamasaki
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  2. Kihachiro Kikuzawa
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Correspondence to Michimasa Yamasaki.

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Yamasaki, M., Kikuzawa, K. Temporal and spatial variations in leaf herbivory within a canopy of Fagus crenata . Oecologia 137, 226–232 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1337-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1337-x

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