Model system
The pedunculate oak is one of the most common dominant deciduous tree
species in European forests. It is also a popular ornamental tree in
European urban areas (Eaton et al., 2016). Its distribution range spans
from central Spain (23°N) to southern Fennoscandia (63°N) (Eaton et al.,
2016). uercus robur is associated with a large community of
generalist and specialist herbivorous insects belonging to different
feeding guilds (chewers, skeletonizers, gall-inducers, leaf-miners,
suckers and xylophagous) (Marković and Stojanović, 2011; Moreira et al.,
2018; Southwood et al., 2005). These ecological characteristics make the
pedunculate oak a suitable model species for measuring the effects of
urbanization and forest cover on plant-herbivore interactions.