Contribution of Herbivore-caused Greenfall to Litterfall Nitrogen Flux in Several Southern Appalachian Forested Watersheds. Risley, L. S. American Midland Naturalist, 1992.
Contribution of Herbivore-caused Greenfall to Litterfall Nitrogen Flux in Several Southern Appalachian Forested Watersheds [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
Herbivorous insects are responsible for a portion of foliar litterfall in forest ecosystems. There is little information on the nutrient content of this litterfall despite speculation that herbivores regulate nutrient cycles. We quantified herbivore-caused "green-fall" (green leaves falling as a direct result of herbivore feeding activity) in four Appalachian watersheds and analyzed samples for total nitrogen. Concentrations of nitrogen in greenfall fluctuated significantly from May through September and were always higher than concentrations of nitrogen in autumn senesced leaves. Annual inputs of greenfall nitrogen ranged from 0.08-0.18 g-m\textasciitilde2-yr\textasciitilde' and resulted in 3.2% to 6.5% of total nitrogen transferred to the forest floor in autumn foliar litterfall. Greenfall is viewed as a high-quality substrate supplying nitrogen to decomposer organisms and is thus a .potential mechanism by which herbivorous insects speed nutrient cycling.

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