Morphological and functional diversity of foliar damage on Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. (Fagaceae) by herbivorous insects and pathogenic fungi

Abstract

Insect-feeding damage on plants provides insight into plant–insect interactions along environmental gradients. However, cataloging such damage has been limited for fossil flora or extant tropical vegetation. We explored the diversity of insect-feeding damage on Quercus mongolica; one of the major tree species in the East Asian temperate forests. Eighty-six types of damage were cataloged from five sites on three mountains in Korea. Each damage type identified from our study was compared to previously proposed types of damage. The possible or confirmed origin of each damage type was discussed. The diversity of the damage types was highest from Mt. Seongjusan, followed by Mt. Jirisan and Mt. Hallasan. The frequency of each damage type on the leaves varied among research sites. Damage involving sap-sucking arthropods and pathogenic fungi was most frequent and exhibited greater among-site variation among the eight functional categories.