RT Journal Article
T1 The impact of the Asian chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) on chestnut tree growth may be mediated by site resources
A1 Castedo Dorado, Fernando
A1 Álvarez Álvarez, Pedro
A1 Lombardero Díaz, María Josefa
K1 Chestnut tree pest
K1 Infestation level
K1 Compensation for herbivory
K1 High forest
K1 Basal area increment
AB Introduction: The Asian chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) is a major pest of chestnut trees worldwide, seriously affecting chestnut cultivation. Information concerning the effects of gall wasp attack on diameter growth of chestnut trees is currently scarce and limited to coppice stands and to use of the growth of a non-target control species (unaffected by the pest) for reference purposes. The effects of the pest on widely-spaced plantations (grown at a much lower density than chestnut coppices) and the use of explicitly-observed annual infestation rate data remain to be explored.Methods: In the present study, we analyzed the impact of the chestnut gall wasp on the diameter growth of chestnut trees, using data from 16 experimental plots established in widely-spaced plantations located in good quality sites. Two of the plots are in plantations where a susceptible hybrid chestnut clone and a chestnut clone resistant to the gall wasp coexist, whereas the remaining 14 plots are in Castanea sativa plantations where the level of gall wasp infestation varies across trees and years. The plots were surveyed to determine the diameter growth of the trees and the level of infestation during 5 years (2017–2021).Results: The infestation level corresponding to the theoretical damage threshold was surpassed inmost plots during the study period. Nevertheless, there were no differences in the growth of attacked and unaffected plants in the two plots planted with hybrid clones with contrasting susceptibility to the gall wasp. The attack had a modest effect in C. sativa plots, with a mean reduction in annual basal area increment of 9.9%.Discussion: These findings apparently contradict previous reports of a marked reduction in radial growth of chestnut coppice trees due to gall wasp attack. The difference in findings may be related to increased compensation for herbivory with increasing levels of resources (especially light) in the plantations under study, which were less dense than previously studied stands. The study outcomes add to existing knowledge on the impact of chestnut gall wasp on wood formation and may have implications regarding planting site recommendations and subsequent stand management
PB Frontiers
SN 2624-893X
YR 2023
FD 2023-01-13
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44542
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10347/44542
LA eng
NO Castedo-Dorado F, Álvarez-Álvarez P and Lombardero MJ (2023) The impact of the Asian chestnut gall wasp (Dryocosmus kuriphilus) on chestnut tree growth may be mediated by site resources. Front. For. Glob. Change 5:1095185. doi: 10.3389/􀀀gc.2022.1095185
NO This work was supported by FEDER/Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Research (grant AGL2016-76262-R)
DS Minerva
RD 17 abr 2026