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Plant pathology

Pathogen-driven forest diversity

Nature volume 404, pages 232–233 (2000)Cite this article

Janzen2 and Connell3 proposed that the diversity of trees in tropical rainforests results from the presence of organisms — specifically, herbivores — that thrive on only one species of tree. The occurrence and density of such specialized herbivores, especially insects, correlates strongly with the presence of their host trees. These tree-specific herbivores eat both mature trees and saplings, and the saplings are more vulnerable to defoliation. So, the establishment of young trees is constrained in the vicinity of their parents, and only those seedlings that are dispersed to some distance from mature trees of the same species may survive2,3. However, as the herbivores are loyal to just one type of tree, other tree species may become established in the vicinity of the herbivore's target, generating tree species diversity.

This hypothesis has been widely tested, but few studies have looked at the part played by soil pathogens in controlling species richness4, and most have dealt with tropical rainforests rather than temperate forests. Packer and Clay1 address both of these issues. They show that, because a particular soil pathogen (a fungus of the genus Pythium) lives on the roots of mature black cherry (Prunus serotina) trees, the dispersal of black cherry seeds away from their parents is crucial for the establishment of saplings.

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Figure 1: A black cherry (Prunus serotina) forest.

A. PACKER

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Multitrophic Interactions, The Netherlands Institute of Ecology NIOO-CTO, PO Box 40, Heteren, 6666 ZG, The Netherlands

    Wim H. van der Putten

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  1. Wim H. van der Putten
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Correspondence to Wim H. van der Putten.

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van der Putten, W. Pathogen-driven forest diversity. Nature 404, 232–233 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35005188

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