Carabid community structure in northern China grassland ecosystems: Effects of local habitat on species richness, species composition and functional diversity

Abstract

BackgroundMost carabid beetles are particularly sensitive to local habitat characteristics. Although in China grasslands account for more than 40% of the national land, their biodiversity is still poorly known. The aim of this paper is to identify the main environmental characteristics influencing carabid diversity in different types of grassland in northern China.MethodsWe investigated the influence of vegetation (plant biomass, cover, density, height and species richness), soil (bulk density, above ground litter, moisture and temperature) and climate (humidity, precipitation and temperature) on carabid community structure (species richness, species composition and functional diversity—measured as body size, movement and total diversity) in three types of grasslands: desert, typical and meadow steppes. We used Canonical correspondence analysis to investigate the role of habitat characteristics on species composition and eigenvector spatial filtering to investigate the responses of species richness and functional diversities.ResultsWe found that carabid community structure was strongly influenced by local habitat characteristics and particularly by climatic factors. Carabids in the desert steppe showed the lowest richness and functional diversities. Climate predictors (temperature, precipitation and humidity) had positive effects on carabid species richness at both regional and ecosystem levels, with difference among ecosystems. Plant diversity had a positive influence on carabid richness at the regional level. Soil compaction and temperature were negatively related to species richness at regional level. Climatic factors positively influenced functional diversities, whereas soil temperature had negative effects. Soil moisture and temperature were the most important drivers of species composition at regional level, whereas the relative importance of the various environmental parameters varied among ecosystems.DiscussionCarabid responses to environmental characteristics varied among grassland types, which warns against generalizations and indicates that management programs should be considered at grassland scale. Carabid community structure is strongly influenced by climatic factors, and can therefore be particularly sensitive to ongoing climate change.

Influence of Climate and Local Habitat Characteristics on Carabid Beetle Abundance and Diversity in Northern Chinese Steppes

“…In a previous study, we found that climate factors influenced carabid functional diversity in different types of steppes [16]. Here, we found that climate factors were also important drivers of carabid activity density in the studied ecosystems.…”

“…Since we detected a VIF = 10.65 for ST in the desert steppe (Table S1), this variable was no longer considered in the analyses for this ecosystem. Further details about this type of analysis can be found in a companion paper [16].…”

“…Monthly mean values of humidity (Hum), precipitation (Prec), and temperature (Temp) were recorded from meteorological stations. Further details about the study area and data collection can be found in a companion paper [16].…”

“…In a previous study, we investigated the effects of local habitat characteristics on carabid species functional diversity in three types of steppes (desert, typical, and meadow [3]) in northern China [16]. We found that, in general, temperature, precipitation, and humidity were positively related to functional diversity at the regional scale, but important differences emerged between the different types of steppes.…”

Spatiotemporal patterns of ground beetle diversity (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in a Ramsar wetland (Chott Tinsilt) of Algeria

“…In general, climatic factors may partly explain the variation of alpha diversity (Xiao-Dong et al, 2016). Climatic predictors (temperature, precipitation, and air humidity) have positive effects on carabid species richness at regional and ecosystem levels, with differences between ecosystems (Tsafack et al, 2019). For all organisms, temperature can determine species richness through its effect on metabolic biochemical kinetics (Sanders et al, 2007).…”