Modern Aspects of Studying the Role of Phyllophagous Insects in Forest Communities

Abstract

This paper presents a review of publications on the relationship between phyllophagous insects and the forest communities in the current ecological situation, when ongoing climate changes, manifested primarily in an increase in the air temperature and a change in the precipitation amount and distribution, affect all processes in natural communities. Changes in the ranges of many plants and animal species are observed moving up northwards and up in altitude. The spring phenophases come earlier, the autumn ones come later, the vegetation period lengthens, and the biomass of terrestrial plants increases. Such phenomena, together with changes in climatic parameters, affect herbivorous animals, which include insects with various food specializations and different life cycles. As before, despite the growing number of observations in different parts of the earth, there remains a lot of uncertainty about how individual plant and insect species and their functional groups function under the changing external conditions. It is emphasized that it is necessary to continue long-term studies in specific natural conditions in order to more accurately determine the reaction of the participants in the interactions to local climate changes and understand what the forestry strategy should be in the current and the situation predicted for the future.