1. Infestation intensity by the invasive oak lace bug, Corythucha arcuata (Say) in mixed and pure oak standsGernot Hoch, Alex Stemmelen, Eötvös Csaba Béla, Werner Hinterstoisser, Miran Lanšćak, Srđan Stojnić, Máté Tóth, Marjana Westergren, Simon Zidar, Milica Zlatković, Nikola Zoric, Maarten De Groot, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: There has been accumulating evidence for effects of tree species composition on herbivory with many examples of lower damage by specialist feeders in tree species rich forests. In a joint study in five Central and Southeastern European countries, we studied the effect of tree species richness on infestation intensity of the oak lace bug, Corythucha arcuata (Say) (Heteroptera, Tingidae), an invasive pest on oak trees that has spread rapidly across the Balkan Peninsula and Central Europe. Intensity of infestation by C. arcuata on oaks was assessed on three or four study plots with high (pure stands) and three or four plots with low percentage of oak (mixed stands) in each country. Ordinal regression analysis showed that intensity of infestation of trees by C. arcuata differed between countries; no significant effect of stand type (mixed or pure) on infestation levels was detected. When analysing the percentage of trees in the highest infestation class, stand type had a significant effect with more intensive infestation in pure stands. We conclude that mixed stands will not prevent severe infestation but may help mitigating the impact of established C. arcuata populations. Keywords: associational resistance, Corythucha arcuata, diversity, host tree concentration, invasive forest pest Published in DiRROS: 14.11.2023; Views: 523; Downloads: 297
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