Cascading effects of soil water content on leaf chemistry and damage: implications for plant susceptibility to pests and pathogens in a drier world
4 affiliations
- 1Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiología de Sevilla, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IRNAS-CSIC)
- 2Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Sevilla
- 3Estación Biológica de Doñana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (EBD-CSIC)
- 4Misión Biológica de Galicia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (MBG-CSIC)
Abstract
Climate change is causing major alterations in precipitation regimes and soil water availability, with far-reaching effects on plant traits. Changes in plant chemistry under drought scenarios are particularly relevant, as they can modulate plant interactions with antagonistic organisms. However, how such changes in plant chemistry affect plant susceptibility to biotic damage remains poorly understood. Here we integrated results from a systematic literature review and a field study in Mediterranean mixed forests to advance our understanding of the cascading effects of reduced soil water content on leaf reserves, defences and damage caused by herbivores and pathogens. The literature review revealed that studies linking soil water content with leaf chemistry and damage remain scarce and reported a variety of direct and indirect relationships between the three components. Nevertheless, most studies found higher leaf damage under drier conditions. Results from our field study also supported that leaf damage increased with decreasing soil water content, a relationship largely mediated by changes in leaf phenolic compounds. In Mediterranean forests, phenolics play a major role in protection against desiccation and UV radiation due to their antioxidant properties, yet certain phenolic compounds can also benefit antagonists. Overall, our findings suggest that leaf damage can increase in a drier climate, forcing tree species to face fundamental trade-offs when protecting themselves from the combined stress imposed by abiotic (drought) and biotic (pests and pathogens) components of global change.
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BibTeX
@article{gaytan2026cascading,
title = {{Cascading effects of soil water content on leaf chemistry and damage: implications for plant susceptibility to pests and pathogens in a drier world}},
author = {Álvaro Gaytán and Luis Matías and Óscar Godoy and Ignacio M. Pérez-Ramos and Pablo Homet and Xoaquín Moreira and Lorena Gómez-Aparicio},
journal = {Frontiers in Plant Science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpls.2026.1914073},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1914073/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Cascading effects of soil water content on leaf chemistry and damage: implications for plant susceptibility to pests and pathogens in a drier world
AU - Álvaro Gaytán
AU - Luis Matías
AU - Óscar Godoy
AU - Ignacio M. Pérez-Ramos
AU - Pablo Homet
AU - Xoaquín Moreira
AU - Lorena Gómez-Aparicio
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2026.1914073
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2026.1914073/full
AB - Climate change is causing major alterations in precipitation regimes and soil water availability, with far-reaching effects on plant traits. Changes in plant chemistry under drought scenarios are particularly relevant, as they can modulate plant interactions with antagonistic organisms. However, how such changes in plant chemistry affect plant susceptibility to biotic damage remains poorly understood. Here we integrated results from a systematic literature review and a field study in Mediterranean mixed forests to advance our understanding of the cascading effects of reduced soil water content on leaf reserves, defences and damage caused by herbivores and pathogens. The literature review revealed that studies linking soil water content with leaf chemistry and damage remain scarce and reported a variety of direct and indirect relationships between the three components. Nevertheless, most studies found higher leaf damage under drier conditions. Results from our field study also supported that leaf damage increased with decreasing soil water content, a relationship largely mediated by changes in leaf phenolic compounds. In Mediterranean forests, phenolics play a major role in protection against desiccation and UV radiation due to their antioxidant properties, yet certain phenolic compounds can also benefit antagonists. Overall, our findings suggest that leaf damage can increase in a drier climate, forcing tree species to face fundamental trade-offs when protecting themselves from the combined stress imposed by abiotic (drought) and biotic (pests and pathogens) components of global change.
SN - 1664-462X
ER -