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Tree species-rich forests are hypothesised to be less susceptible to insect herbivores, but so far herbivory–diversity relationships have rarely been tested for tree saplings, and no such study has been published for deciduous forests in Central Europe. We expected that diverse tree communities reduce the probability of detection of host plants and increase abundance of predators, thereby reducing herbivory. We examined levels of herbivory suffered by beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and maple saplings (Acer pseudoplatanus L. and Acer platanoides L.) across a tree species diversity gradient within Germany’s largest remaining deciduous forest area, and investigated whether simple beech or mixed stands were less prone to damage caused by herbivorous insects. Leaf area loss and the frequency of galls and mines were recorded for 1,040 saplings (>13,000 leaves) in June and August 2006. In addition, relative abundance of predators was assessed to test for potential top-down control. Leaf area loss was generally higher in the two species of maple compared to beech saplings, while only beech showed a decline in damage caused by leaf-chewing herbivores across the tree diversity gradient. No significant patterns were found for galls and mines. Relative abundance of predators on beech showed a seasonal response and increased on species-rich plots in June, suggesting higher biological control. We conclude that, in temperate deciduous forests, herbivory–tree diversity relationships are significant, but are tree species-dependent with bottom-up and top-down control as possible mechanisms. In contrast to maple, beech profits from growing in a neighbourhood of higher tree richness, which implies that species identity effects may be of greater importance than tree diversity effects per se. Hence, herbivory on beech appeared to be mediated bottom-up by resource concentration in the sampled forest stands, as well as regulated top-down through biocontrol by natural enemies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00442-009-1304-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.

Aim  Plant and arthropod diversity are often related, but data on the role of mature tree diversity on canopy insect communities are fragmentary. We compare species richness of canopy beetles across a tree diversity gradient ranging from mono‐dominant beech to mixed stands within a deciduous forest, and analyse community composition changes across space and time.Location  Germany’s largest exclusively deciduous forest, the Hainich National Park (Thuringia).Methods  We used flight interception traps to assess the beetle fauna of various tree species, and applied additive partitioning to examine spatiotemporal patterns of diversity.Results  Species richness of beetle communities increased across the tree diversity gradient from 99 to 181 species per forest stand. Intra‐ and interspecific spatial turnover among trees contributed more than temporal turnover among months to the total γ‐beetle diversity of the sampled stands. However, due to parallel increases in the number of habitat generalists and the number of species in each feeding guild (herbivores, predators and fungivores), no proportional changes in community composition could be observed. If only beech trees were analysed across the gradient, patterns were similar but temporal (monthly) species turnover was higher compared to spatial turnover among trees and not related to tree diversity.Main conclusions  The changes in species richness and community composition across the gradient can be explained by habitat heterogeneity, which increased with the mix of tree species. We conclude that understanding temporal and spatial species turnover is the key to understanding biodiversity patterns. Mono‐dominant beech stands are insufficient to conserve fully the regional species richness of the remaining semi‐natural deciduous forest habitats in Central Europe, and analysing beech alone would have resulted in the misleading conclusion that temporal (monthly) turnover contributes more to beetle diversity than spatial turnover among different tree species or tree individuals.