Full text of this article is only available in PDF format.

Pekka Kaitaniemi (email), Janne Riihimäki, Julia Koricheva, Harri Vehviläinen

Experimental evidence for associational resistance against the European pine sawfly in mixed tree stands

Kaitaniemi P., Riihimäki J., Koricheva J., Vehviläinen H. (2007). Experimental evidence for associational resistance against the European pine sawfly in mixed tree stands. Silva Fennica vol. 41 no. 2 article id 295. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.295

Abstract

This study examined whether the saplings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) exhibit associational resistance against the European pine sawfly Neodiprion sertifer (Hymenoptera, Diprionidae) when grown in a mixture with 50% silver birch (Betula pendula). The number of sawflies on pine trees in pure and mixed stands was manipulated at two experimental sites during two years. Survival of larvae and eggs was monitored, and the numbers of presumed sawfly predators were counted. A lower proportion of sawfly larvae and eggs survived on pines grown in the mixture with birch as compared with pure pine stands. Lower survival of sawfly larvae in the mixed stands was associated with the higher abundance of ants in these stands. The numbers of other sawfly predators (e.g. spiders and predatory heteropterans) differed between the study sites and were negatively associated with the presence of ants, which suggests possible interference between these groups. Although sawfly survival was lower on pines in the mixed stands, providing evidence of associational resistance, a related study shows the same trees had a higher number of ant-tended aphid colonies as compared with pines in the pure stands. Therefore, instead of considering resistance against individual herbivore species, it seems more practical to use associational resistance as a trait representing the resistance of larger systems, such as whole tree stands, against the total damage caused by herbivores in general.

Keywords
stand structure; natural enemies; species diversity; tri-trophic interactions

Author Info
  • Kaitaniemi, Hyytiälä Forestry Field Station, University of Helsinki, Hyytiäläntie 124, FI-35500 Korkeakoski, Finland E-mail pk@nn.fi (email)
  • Riihimäki, Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland E-mail jr@nn.fi
  • Koricheva, School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK E-mail jk@nn.uk
  • Vehviläinen, Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland E-mail hv@nn.fi

Received 22 June 2006 Accepted 8 March 2007 Published 31 December 2007

Views 2192

Available at https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.295 | Download PDF

Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 4.0

Register
Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.
Log in
If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.
Contents alert
Sign up to receive alerts of new content

Your selected articles
Your search results