Root herbivores play a major but often underappreciated role in many ecosystems. The root herbivore fauna is diverse, including culturally familiar groups such as “June” beetles, “click” beetles and pocket gophers, but also lesser-known groups such as nematodes, flies and weevils. This session will highlight integrative ecological research involving root herbivores, examining the roles of root herbivores in food webs and the influence of root herbivory on ecosystem structure and function. Speakers will explore the role of root herbivores as consumer and prey in multi-trophic food webs; linkages between root herbivores, induced plant defenses, and aboveground fauna; the emergence and biological control of invasive root-feeding pests in managed ecosystems; and the influence of social change on root herbivory in traditional agricultural communities. The session explores three major themes: change, micro- and macrofauna, and natural and managed systems. Change will be examined explicitly across multiple temporal scales from seasonal variation, to inter-annual changes resulting from factors such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, to longer-term changes that result from invasive pests and sociological change. Speakers will present research on fauna including nematodes, insects, and mammals, and ecosystems ranging from some of the most intensively managed agricultural systems on the planet, to more traditional agricultural systems, to low-input systems, to largely unmanaged ecosystems.