A study in Quebec cloned several genets of Salix planifolia and submitted them to simulated root and/or leaf herbivory while varying the nutrient availability. Results showed that leaf herbivory is much more detrimental to S. planifolia than root herbivory, reducing both green shoot and root biomass, and root relative growth rates. Leaf demography is not altered by the simulated herbivory treatments, but leaf physiology is, as lower stomatal resistance for the simulated leaf herbivory plants suggests higher photosynthetic rate. Higher photosynthetic activity and concurrent higher green shoot relative growth rates indicate some degree of compensation as a result of leaf herbivory. However, higher root relative growth rates as a result of simulated root herbivory is also a compensatory response, but one that does not appear to be associated with increased photosynthetic activity and that is not manifested at the expense of above-ground growth. In this experiment there was the absence of interactions among factors (genotype, nutrient availability, and type of tissue damage) on the compensatory response of S. planifolia. This result indicates that the treatment effects are strictly additive for all the clones studied.
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