Plant Diversity and Density, Driving Forces of the Feeding Activity of Herbivores in a Temperate Forest of Southern South Korea

Herbivory is a major functional component of forest ecosystems, and herbivorous insects comprise about 25% of all insect species. Increasing plant diversity is related to herbivore abundance and diversity, which affects the level of leaf damage caused by insects. This study was conducted to identify plant-related variables such as plant diversity and number of leaves and density-related variables, basal area, and diameter at breast height (DBH) in a temperate forest of southern South Korea. To assess the level of leaf damage caused by leaf chewing insects, we set up two 0.1 ha plots in a temperate deciduous forest on Mt. Jirisan National Park. Plant richness differed between two sites: 16 species in 14 families(site 1) and 19 species in 15 families (site 2). Fisher's alpha index based on plant species richness and abundance resulted in 4.41 (site 1) and 6.57 (site 2). However, the sum of basal area of each site was higher in site 1 ($6.6m^2$) than site 2 ($3.7m^2$). The total surveyed leaves at two sites were 3,832 and 4,691, respectively and the damage leaves were 1,544 and 2,136, respectively. The mean leaf damage level was 11.2% (${\pm}1.76%$) in two study sites: the leaf damage level of the site 1 (11.99%) was significantly higher than site 2 (10.59%). Stepwise regression analysis showed that species diversity and evenness were the significant variables for leaf damages by chewing herbivores. NMDS ordination also identified that high tree density and low species diversity were the significant variables. This suggested that the level of damage was significantly higher in plots with low plant diversity and high tree density. In the future, we will investigate other guilds of herbivores such as sap-suckers, miners and gallers in temperate deciduous forests.

한국 남부 온대림 초식 곤충 식흔량에 영향을 주는 식물 다양성과 밀도

산림 생태계에서 초식 곤충은 생물 다양성의 구조와 기능에서 주요한 역할을 담당하는데 알려져 있는 곤충 종 수의 25%를 차지할 정도로 중요한 부분이다. 초식 곤충 종 풍부도와 다양성은 식물 종 다양성과 밀접한 연관을 지니고 있다. 이 연구에서는 우리나라 온대림에 서식하는 초식 곤충 활동량을 나타내는 식흔량이 먹이식물 다양성, 균등도, 나뭇잎 수, 먹이식물 밀도와 관련된 기저단면적(basal area), 흉고직경(DBH)과 어떠한 관련이 있는가를 알고자 하였다. 지리산국립공원 온대낙엽수림에 0.1 ha의 방형구를 두 군데 설치하여 잎을 씹어먹는 초식 곤충(chewer)에 의한 식흔량을 측정하였다. 연구결과 평균 11.2% (${\pm}1.76%$)의 식흔 발생량을 확인하였고, 조사 지역 중 식물 다양성이 높은 곳보다 낮은 곳에서 식흔량이 더 많았다. 또한 한국 남부 온대림에서 초식 곤충 활동에는 밀도 요인인 기저단면적이 긍정적으로 작용하는 것을 알 수 있었다. 추후 온대 낙엽활엽수림의 영양 단계(trophic level)에서 초식 곤충의 여러 길드가 어떤 작용으로 영향을 받는가에 대한 연구가 필요하다고 생각한다.