title: Insect defoliation enhances nitrate export from forest ecosystems.
abstract: Chronic defoliation by the fall cankerworm, Alsophila pometaria (Harris), accompanied substantial increases in the stream export of nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) from three mixed hardwood forests in the southern Appalachians. These integrated results clearly demonstrate a measurable effect of insect consumers on ecosystem processes, and provide support for the regulatory importance of insects on a landscape scale.
authors.affiliation: Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, 28763, Otto, North Carolina.
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Swank
authors.affiliation: Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 37830, Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Waide
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Crossley
authors.affiliation: Department of Agronomy, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Todd