Pattern of plant communities’ influence to grasshopper abundance distribution in heterogeneous landscapes at the upper reaches of Heihe River, Qilian Mountains, China

Abstract

Understanding the impact of the heterogeneity of the ecological environment on biodiversity is a key issue in ecology. Topographical heterogeneity was potentially important in grassland systems to create or change habitats for grasshopper settlement and foraging. Yet, there was little knowledge of how grasshopper communities respond to plant communities along the altitude gradient. We investigated the role of plant communities on grasshopper diversity with geostatistical methods to test the effects of heterogeneity in the natural grassland on the upper reaches of the Heihe River, Qilian Mountains. To aim the goal of the study, nonreturn experiments were used to collect the grasshoppers' diversity and populations, and the plant's community was sampled at the same location. The results showed that the semivariograms of grasshopper abundance and plant communities were both nonlinear models, while the grasshopper abundance typically produces heterogeneity with a larger range and nuggets than plant communities (except the plant coverage range in the model, range <1.5 m). The two communities presented the spatial distribution pattern of aggregated distribution, and the spatial trend is more intense in the northeast-southwest direction than in the northwest-southeast. The grasshopper species developed a good selection on microenvironment to habitat and the distribution consistent with plants, forming the horizontal distribution with a flaky and plaque distribution pattern. The relationship between grasshoppers and plants was highly dependent on the altitude, and grasshopper abundance has a positive correlation with plant richness (F = 0.68) and plant coverage (F = 0.32) and has a negative correlation with plant height (F = 0.13). In summary, the spatial distribution and correlation characteristics of plant communities and grasshoppers formed a plaque heterogeneity structure under the altitude gradients.

Changes in the Range of Four Advantageous Grasshopper Habitats in the Hexi Corridor under Future Climate Conditions

“…Lv et al [44] made predictions about suitable habitats for grasshoppers in the alpine grasslands of the Qilian Mountains. On a small scale, numerous scholars have conducted research on the species composition [2] and quantitative characteristics [18] of grasshoppers in the Qilian Mountains, as well as their relationships with vegetation communities [45], topography [46], temperature, and rainfall [47]. Due to the influence of climatic and topographic conditions, the grassland ecosystem of the Qilian Mountains is complex and diverse, providing varied and suitable habitat conditions for various grasshopper species, making grasshopper control difficult [48].…”

Analysis of Spatiotemporal Variation in Habitat Suitability for Oedaleus decorus asiaticus Bei-Bienko on the Mongolian Plateau Using Maxent and Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data

“…Precipitation mainly affects the growth and development of grasshoppers through its effects on soil moisture [ 28 , 29 ]. Altitude and slope are the main topographic factors affecting the distribution of grasshoppers [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 ]. The soil type and soil water content also affect the distribution and densities of grasshoppers [ 28 , 35 ].…”

Detecting Key Factors of Grasshopper Occurrence in Typical Steppe and Meadow Steppe by Integrating Machine Learning Model and Remote Sensing Data

“…Recently, several studies showed that grasshopper occurrence is affected by different environmental factors or geographical attributes [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. For instance, studies focusing on single factors influencing grasshopper occurrence demonstrate that grasshopper occurrence has a high correlation with plants [ 13 ]. Grasshopper occurrence and spatial distribution strongly respond to local vegetation height and amount of bare ground [ 14 ].…”

“…The soil type, as well as topsoil moisture content can affect grasshopper occurrence by influencing grasshopper density [ 18 , 20 ]. Moreover, the region-specific topography, mainly including altitude and slope, has clear effects on the distribution of grasshopper occurrence [ 13 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ]. Several studies on the relationship between the microclimate (mainly including temperature and precipitation) and the distribution of grasshopper occurrence [ 9 , 17 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] exist.…”