Insects and Ecosystem Function

Various effects of insects on ecosystem functioning.- Insect herbivores, nutrient cycling and plant productivity.- Indirect effects of invertebrate herbivory on the decomposer subsystem.- Biotic interactions in the rhizosphere.- Below-ground herbivores and ecosystem processes.- Bottom-up effects and feed-backs in simple and diverse experimental grassland communities.- The potential of phytophagous insects in restoring invaded ecosystems.- Plant-insect-pathogen interactions on local and regional scales.- Food web interactions and ecosystem processes.- The role of outbreaking insects in plant community dynamics.- The ecology driving nutrient fluxes in forests.- Simulating herbivory: problems and possibilities.- The use and usefulness of artificial herbivory in plant-herbivore studies.- The role and value of cage experiments in understanding top-down effects in ecosystems.- Reducing herbivory using insecticides.- The role of herbivores in alien plant invasions.- Herbivore-specific transcriptional responses and their research potential for ecosystem studies.- Testing the role of insects for ecosystem functioning.