Plant mediated interaction between aboveground and underground herbivores under drought stress

With global climate change, the frequency and intensity of drought events may increase. Therefore, it is crucial to predict the net impact of global climate change on ecosystems by studying the interaction between aboveground and underground phytophagous insects mediated by plants under drought stress. Based on the findings from an extensive literature review, we found that: 1) The interaction between aboveground and underground phytophagous insects in recent climate is mainly based on the “plant stress hypothesis” and “defense induction hypothesis” and the interaction between aboveground and underground phytophagous insects is affected by the order of phytophagous insects arriving at the host plant, performance parameters of phytophagous insects, life history of plants, and types of phytophagous insects. 2) The effect of drought stress on plants is based on the hypothesis of “growth differentiation” which has been corroborated to some extent. 3) Drought stress can cause changes in plant physiology, thereby affecting the relationship between plants and aboveground leaf-eating insects (chewing insects, stinging insects). 4) Few studies have examined the interaction between plants and underground root-eating insects under drought stress. At present, few studies suggest that the damage to plant roots caused by drought and underground root-eating insects may be superimposed. 5) The interaction between aboveground and underground phytophagous insects mediated by plants under drought stress may be affected by phytophagous insect species; plant species; type, concentration, and distribution of plant defense compounds; plant hormones; plant palatability; plant communities; and habitats. 6) In the future, research on plant-mediated aboveground and underground phytophagous insect interactions under drought stress needs to further reduce experimental limitations, for example, long-term field experiments, expanding the scope of experiments (including more plants and phytophagous insect species), innovative experimental methods, and evaluation of the dominant mechanism between interactions.