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Overabundant native herbivore impacts on native plant communities in south‐eastern Australia
Author(s) -
Morgan John W.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
ecological management and restoration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.472
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1442-8903
pISSN - 1442-7001
DOI - 10.1111/emr.12437
Subject(s) - herbivore , ecology , species richness , plant community , native plant , vegetation (pathology) , biology , palatability , introduced species , plant tolerance to herbivory , invasive species , terrestrial plant , geography , medicine , food science , pathology
Summary Native herbivores can affect the structure and function of plant communities. Most studies of overabundant native herbivore effects on native plant communities in south‐eastern Australia are observational or compare, at most, two levels of herbivory (ambient vs. none), and typically do not separate out the impacts of multiple herbivores. Several studies show that high densities of herbivores had mostly negative effects on plant regeneration and growth. These effects were usually attributed to palatability differences amongst plant species. Surprisingly, few studies have quantified vegetation responses across a gradient of herbivore density, and impacts on plant communities (i.e. species richness, composition, beta diversity) have not been well studied. Hence, there remains a need to better understand how native herbivores impact plant communities at different densities.