Small herbivoers losing control: Plant-herbivore interactions along a natural productivity gradient

Different theories have been postulated about how plant-herbivore interactions will change along gradients of plant productivity. They lead to different predictions on the importance of top-down and bottom-up effects in structuring communities. The classical exploitation theory predicts increasing top-down control along a gradient of primary productivity. At intermediate levels of productivity, herbivores will be regulated plant biomass, whereas at high levels of productivity herbivores will be regulated by carnivores. In contrast, the quality treshold theory predicts that bottum-up effects become of more importance at high productivity. Decreasing plant quality will result in decreasing herbivore numbers. Both theories predict that herbivores will have the strongest impact on the vegetation at intermediate levels of productivity. ...

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