Effects of foliar herbivory on the vegetative and reproductive traits of Malpighiaceae from Cerrado: when the ontogeny of leaves and flowers matters

Herbivory plays a central role in the structure of plant communities. However, there is a scarcity of research that simultaneously examines the impact of herbivory on both vegetative and reproductive traits. Using two species of Malpighiaceae as ecological models, Byrsonima intermedia and Peixotoa tomentosa, we hypothesized that plants that are free from herbivory exhibit greater growth and higher performance in vegetative (number of leaves) and reproductive (number of buds, flowers, and fruits) traits compared to plants subjected to natural herbivory. We conducted an experimental field study regarding the presence or absence of insect herbivores on plants and assessed plant traits for a 5-month interval in a Brazilian savanna area, the Cerrado. Our results revealed that B. intermedia individuals free from herbivory produced 4.3 times more young leaves compared to those subjected to herbivory. Regarding reproductive traits, we observed that the percentage of buds that successfully flowered was significantly higher in P. tomentosa individuals without herbivory than in those experiencing herbivory. Therefore, we suggest that the leaf herbivory may affect the plant’s vegetative and reproductive structures differently according to their ontogeny. The production of young leaves and the maturation of flower buds into flowers is lower when leaf herbivory occurs. However, to confirm this pattern, long-term studies should be carried out and consider the chemical compounds of the plants and the nutritional composition of the soil.