Bottom-up and top-down drivers influence urbanization effects on insect herbivory in oaks

Urban forests provide essential ecosystem services. Herbivory is a widespread biotic interaction that shapes ecosystem functions, which underpin these services. Urbanization disrupts plant-herbivore interactions by altering plant traits (bottom-up factors) or by changing the abundance of herbivore natural enemies (top-down control), potentially threatening the services provided by urban forests. Disentangling these drivers of herbivory is crucial for designing and managing urban forests to enhance resilience. We examined insect leaf herbivory on Quercus robur trees in urban and rural forest stands across 13 European cities (N = 104 trees). To assess the effects of top-down forces on herbivory, we excluded vertebrate (e.g., birds, bats), invertebrate (e.g., ants), or both groups of predators from branches on each tree. We then measured insect damage on the different treatments. We also assessed bottom-up drivers by measuring leaf traits, specifically nutrients and phenolic compounds, and..., , # Bottom-up and top-down drivers influence urbanization effects on insect herbivory in oaks

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.s7h44j1mr](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.s7h44j1mr)

## Description of the data and file structure

In this study, we examined insect leaf herbivory on *Quercus robur* trees in urban and rural forest stands across 13 European cities (N = 104 trees). To assess the effects of top-down forces on herbivory, we excluded vertebrate (e.g., birds, bats), invertebrate (e.g., ants), or both groups of predators from branches on each tree. We then measured insect damage on the different treatments. We also assessed bottom-up drivers by measuring leaf traits, specifically nutrients and phenolic compounds, and tested for correlations with leaf damage. Additionally, we recorded temperature within stands, an abiotic factor that may modulate both top-down and bottom-up forces on herbivory.

### Files and variables

#### File: clima.csv

**Description:** At the beginning of the growing...,