Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission Profiles

The cork tree, <i>Quercus suber</i> L., is a characteristic species of the Dehesa agrosilvopastoral system, typical of western Spain. Defoliating insects are an important component of these ecosystems. This study assessed the presence and impact of defoliators feeding on <i>Q. sube...

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Main Authors: Israel Sánchez-Osorio, Daniel Robles, Raúl Tapias
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-01-01
Series:Applied Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/3/1112
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author Israel Sánchez-Osorio
Daniel Robles
Raúl Tapias
author_facet Israel Sánchez-Osorio
Daniel Robles
Raúl Tapias
author_sort Israel Sánchez-Osorio
collection DOAJ
description The cork tree, <i>Quercus suber</i> L., is a characteristic species of the Dehesa agrosilvopastoral system, typical of western Spain. Defoliating insects are an important component of these ecosystems. This study assessed the presence and impact of defoliators feeding on <i>Q. suber</i> soft leaf tissue and their relationship with foliar monoterpene emission profiles. Samplings consisted of weekly tree beating (15 times per tree per sample) during the flight period of key species. We studied 26 cork trees with known profiles of foliar monoterpene emission (13 pinene and 13 limonene chemotypes). We identified a total of 272 larvae from 9 species. The main species were <i>Catocala nymphagoga</i> Esper (40.8%) and <i>Periclista andrei</i> Know (27.6%). Notably, 70.6% of larvae were found on trees with a pinene chemotype. The combined abundance of the four key defoliator species (C. <i>nymphagoga</i> L., <i>P. andrei</i>, <i>Bena bicolorana</i> L., and <i>Cyclophora punctaria</i> L.) was 62.7% lower on limonene-chemotype trees than pinene-chemotype trees. Significant differences were found in defoliation damage between leaves with distinct terpene emission profiles. These results suggest that both the abundance and damage caused by defoliators differ with trees’ emission profiles, and this may indicate differences in palatability and/or nutritional quality between <i>Q. suber</i> trees with distinct foliar monoterpene emission profiles.
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spelling doaj.art-78bd55dc6757461da6c55c73a2a254de2024-02-09T15:07:50ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172024-01-01143111210.3390/app14031112Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission ProfilesIsrael Sánchez-Osorio0Daniel Robles1Raúl Tapias2Department of Agroforestry Science, Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), Campus El Carmen, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, SpainDepartment of Agroforestry Science, Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), Campus El Carmen, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, SpainDepartment of Agroforestry Science, Higher Technical School of Engineering (ETSI), Campus El Carmen, University of Huelva, 21007 Huelva, SpainThe cork tree, <i>Quercus suber</i> L., is a characteristic species of the Dehesa agrosilvopastoral system, typical of western Spain. Defoliating insects are an important component of these ecosystems. This study assessed the presence and impact of defoliators feeding on <i>Q. suber</i> soft leaf tissue and their relationship with foliar monoterpene emission profiles. Samplings consisted of weekly tree beating (15 times per tree per sample) during the flight period of key species. We studied 26 cork trees with known profiles of foliar monoterpene emission (13 pinene and 13 limonene chemotypes). We identified a total of 272 larvae from 9 species. The main species were <i>Catocala nymphagoga</i> Esper (40.8%) and <i>Periclista andrei</i> Know (27.6%). Notably, 70.6% of larvae were found on trees with a pinene chemotype. The combined abundance of the four key defoliator species (C. <i>nymphagoga</i> L., <i>P. andrei</i>, <i>Bena bicolorana</i> L., and <i>Cyclophora punctaria</i> L.) was 62.7% lower on limonene-chemotype trees than pinene-chemotype trees. Significant differences were found in defoliation damage between leaves with distinct terpene emission profiles. These results suggest that both the abundance and damage caused by defoliators differ with trees’ emission profiles, and this may indicate differences in palatability and/or nutritional quality between <i>Q. suber</i> trees with distinct foliar monoterpene emission profiles.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/3/1112LepidopteraHymenopteracork oak<i>Catocala</i><i>Periclista</i><i>Bena</i>
spellingShingle Israel Sánchez-Osorio
Daniel Robles
Raúl Tapias
Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission Profiles
Applied Sciences
Lepidoptera
Hymenoptera
cork oak
<i>Catocala</i>
<i>Periclista</i>
<i>Bena</i>
title Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission Profiles
title_full Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission Profiles
title_fullStr Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission Profiles
title_full_unstemmed Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission Profiles
title_short Presence of <i>Quercus Suber</i> Soft-Leaf Defoliators on Trees with Distinct Foliar Monoterpene Emission Profiles
title_sort presence of i quercus suber i soft leaf defoliators on trees with distinct foliar monoterpene emission profiles
topic Lepidoptera
Hymenoptera
cork oak
<i>Catocala</i>
<i>Periclista</i>
<i>Bena</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/3/1112
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AT raultapias presenceofiquercussuberisoftleafdefoliatorsontreeswithdistinctfoliarmonoterpeneemissionprofiles