Description
Insects are a dominant component of biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems and play a key role in mediating the relationship between plants and ecosystem processes. This volume examines their effects on ecosystem functioning, focusing mainly, but not exclusively, on herbivorous insects. Renowned authors with extensive experience in the field of plant-insect interactions, contribute to the volume using examples from their own work. 1 The various effects of insects on ecosystem functioning Wolfgang Weisser and Evan Siemann 2 Insect herbivores, nutrient cycling and plant productivity Susan Hartley and Hefin Jones 3 Indirect effects of invertebrate herbivory on the decomposer subsystem David Wardle and Richard Bardgett 4 Biotic interactions in the rhizosphere: effects on plant growth and herbivore development Michael Bonkowski and Stefan Scheu 5 Below-ground herbivores and ecosystem processes Gregory J. Masters 6 Bottom-up effects and feed-backs in simple and diverse experimental grassland communities Jasmin Joshi, Stuart J. Otway, Julia Koricheva, Andrea B. Pfisterer, Jrn Alphei, B. A. Roy, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Bernhard Schmid, Eva Spehn and Andrew Hector 7 The potential of phytophagous insects in restoring invaded ecosystems: examples from biological weed control Helmut Zwlfer and Helmuth Zimmerman 8 Plant-insect-pathogen interactions on local and regional scales Andreas Kruess, Sabine Eber, Stephanie Kluth and Teja Tscharntke 9 Food web interactions and ecosystem processes Arne Janssen and Maurice W. Sabelis 10 The role of outbreaking insects in plant community dynamics Walter Carson, J. Patrick Cronin and Zachary T. Long 11 The ecology driving nutrient fluxes in forests Bernhard Stadler, Eva Mhlenberg and Beate Michalzik 12 Simulating herbivory: problems and possibilities Joakim Hjltn 13 The use and usefulness of artificial herbivory in plant-herbivore studies Kari Lehtil and Elin Boalt 14 From mesocosms to the field: the role and value of cage experiments in understanding top-down effects in ecosystems Oswald J. Schmitz 15 Reducing herbivory using insecticides Evan Siemann, Walt P Carson, William E. Rogers and Wolfgang W. Weisser 16 The role of herbivores in alien plant invasions: insights using a combination of methods to enhance or reduce herbivory William Rogers and Evan Siemann 17 Herbivore-specific transcriptional responses and their research potential for ecosystem studies Claudia Voelckel and Ian T. Baldwin 18 Testing the role of insects for ecosystem functioning Evan Siemann and Wolfgang Weisser
