Forest canopies are complex and highly diverse environments. Their diversity is affected by pronounced gradients in abiotic and biotic conditions, including variation in leaf chemistry. We hypothesised that branch‐localised defence induction and vertical stratification in mature oaks constitute sources of chemical variation that extend across trophic levels. To test this, we combined manipulation of plant defences, predation m...

Droughts increasingly threaten the world's forests and their potential to mitigate climate change. In 2018–2019, Central European forests were hit by two consecutive hotter drought years, an unprecedented phenomenon that is likely to occur more frequently with climate change. Here, we examine tree growth and physiological stress responses (increase in carbon isotope composition; Δδ 13 C) to this consecutive drought based on tr...