Functional relationship between woody plants and insect communities in response to Bursaphelenchus xylophilus infestation in the Three Gorges Reservoir region

Abstract

To study the effect of the invasion of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus on the functional relationship between woody plants and insect communities, the populations of tree species and insect communities were investigative in the Masson pine forests with different infestation durations of B. xylophilus . In this study, the number of Pinus massoniana began to decrease sharply, whereas the total number of other tree species in the arboreal layer increased gradually with the infestation duration of B. xylophilus . The principal component analysis ordination biplot shows that there was a significant change in the spatial distribution of woody plant species in different Masson pine forest stands. Additionally, a total of 7,188 insect specimens were obtained. The insect population showed an upward trend in stand types with the increase of pine wilt disease infection periods, which demonstrated that the insect community had been significantly affected by the invasion of B. xylophilus . However, the insect diversity indexes were not significantly different among Masson pine forest stands. The structure of insect functional groups changed from herbivorous (He) > omnivorous (Om) > predatory (Pr) > parasitic (Pa) > detritivorous (De) in the control stand to He > Pa > Om, De > Pr after B. xylophilus infestation in the forests. The results showed that the populations of He, Pa, and De increased after the invasion of B. xylophilus , but the populations of Pr decreased. Moreover, the redundancy analysis ordination biplots reflected the complicated functional relationship between woody plant communities and insects after the invasion of B. xylophilus . The present study provides insights into the changes in the community structure of woody plants and insects, as well as the functional relationship between woody plant communities and insect communities after invasion of B. xylophilus .

Potentially Suitable Geographical Area for Monochamus alternatus under Current and Future Climatic Scenarios Based on Optimized MaxEnt Model

“…The mean temperature of the warmest quarter (Bio10) had a positive impact on the distribution of M. alternatus ; however, the optimum value for the monthly mean temperature difference (Bio2) had a negative impact on the M. alternatus distribution. Furthermore, precipitation can indirectly affect the distribution of M. alternatus , mainly by changing air humidity, soil humidity, and the growth of host plants [ 53 , 58 ]. Studies show that excessive precipitation may significantly reduce the flight ability of M. alternatus , thereby affecting its dispersal and diffusion [ 18 , 57 , 59 ].…”

Effects of Environmental Factors on the Spatial Distribution Pattern and Diversity of Insect Communities along Altitude Gradients in Guandi Mountain, China

“…Three 20 × 20 m standard plots were set for each typical ecosystem as repetitions, and 21 standard plots were investigated in this study ( Table 1 and Table S1 , values are mean ± SD). From July to August 2021, the “Tally” method was used to survey detailed information of woody plants with diameter at breast height (DBH) larger than 2.5 cm in each plot, including the name of tree species, DBH, tree height, and the size of crown [ 32 ]. Geographic coordinates, altitude, slope, canopy density, and other basic information were recorded for each plot.…”

“…Insect specimens were collected every seven days, and the survey time was concentrated from early July to the end of August in 2020 and 2021. The “sweep net sampling” method was used to collect low flying insect species, and the net was swept more than 200 times in each plot [ 32 ]. According to the “pitfall trapping” method ( Figure 1 ), five transparent plastic containers with a diameter of 10 cm and a height of 12 cm were placed at the center and the four end points in each plot.…”