Herbivory and plant resource competition: a review of two interacting interactions

Abstract

This review discusses the prevalence and potential for interactive effects between herbivory and competition on plant growth and biomass, and it is apparent that such effects typically arise when there is a mismatch between the spatial scale of herbivore behaviour (food or patch choice) and the spatial heterogeneity of the plant community. Historically, such interactive effects have been examined using two approaches. Studies using the first approach have excluded plant neighbors and herbivores in a factorial experiment, and scored effects on plant biomass. Studies using the second approach have observed herbivore abundance or herbivory on plants with or without plant neighbors, and have identified a large number of mechanisms underlying such interactive effects. The two types of studies have produced somewhat conflicting results, where interactive effects have been commonly observed in studies using the second approach and only rarely in studies using the first approach. This is most likely a consequence of a biased choice of study systems, where studies using the first approach have primarily studied mammalian herbivory while studies using the second approach have been more focussed on insect herbivory. Moreover, studies using the first approach have typically been very small‐scale manipulations and this probably precludes most possible interactive effects in systems with mammalian herbivory. This points to the fact that studies examining interactive effects of herbivory and plant competition should more carefully consider the behaviour and life history of herbivores included in the study prior to the design of removal experiments.