A new look at habitat structure: consequences of herbivore-modified plant architecture

Examines how herbivores might influence plant architecture by considering secondary bud development in response to herbivory, and modified plant architecture in response to defoliation, then reviews the beneficial and detrimental consequences for plants of architectural modification. Plant plasticity in response to such modification is noted, and consequences for herbivores are reported. Implications for the evolution of plant form are indicated. The influence of herbivores is conditional, depending on the timing and extent of grazing and the type of plant tissue attacked. Rapidly-growing herbaceous plants are more likely to benefit from architectural changes wrought by herbivores than are woody plants. -P.J.Jarvis