Plant-insects relationship under climate change focusing on asynchronous migration of functional groups of species toward higher elevation

Asynchronous migration of insect herbivores and plants towards higher elevations following climate warming is anticipated to generate novel plant–insect interactions. As herbivores migrating to higher elevations might incorporate novel plant species into their diet, high-elevation plant communities could experience changes in herbivory pressure which, in turn, will impact ecosystem functioning.

To understand how these novel herbivores will impact alpine ecosystems, I will (i) set up translocation experiment to investigate the impact of host plant shifts on the insects and on trophic interactions. (ii) set up open top chamber to explore the responses of soil properties and microbial communities to a 3-years experimental warming. (iii) perform traits measurements to understand the mechanism by which low-elevation insects will impact alpine ecosystems.