Insect herbivores increase plant species richness in a long‐term grassland experiment

Abstract Understanding how herbivory influences plant diversity is central to plant community ecology. Although much is known about the effects of large‐bodied mammals, such as cattle or bison, the long‐term impact of small‐bodied herbivores, such as insects and small mammals, on plant diversity rarely has been examined. The paucity of such studies probably stems from the hypothesis that small herbivores are unlikely to alter plant diversity because they remove little plant tissue per capita and