Plant quantity and quality regulate the diversity of arthropod communities in a semi‐arid grassland

• Published in: Functional ecology Vol. 35; no. 3; pp. 601 - 613
• Main Authors: Lu, Xiaoming, Zhao, Xuezhen, Tachibana, Taiki, Uchida, Kei, Sasaki, Takehiro, Bai, Yongfei, Koricheva, Julia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2021
• Subjects: Abundance; Aridity; arthropod abundance; arthropod diversity; Arthropods; biomass production; China; Coleoptera; Community structure; Diptera; Environmental changes; Feeding behavior; Grasslands; Hemiptera; herbaceous plants; Hymenoptera; Leaves; Lignin; lignin content; Monoculture; Neuroptera; nitrogen; Nutrient content; Phosphorus; Plant communities; Plant diversity; plant leaf traits; plant productivity; Plant species; Plants; Pollinators; Predators; Prey; Productivity; semi‐arid steppe; Species diversity; Taxa; taxon richness of arthropods; Terrestrial ecosystems; Terrestrial environments; China

The quantity (e.g. biomass production) and quality (e.g. leaf nutrient content) of plants can strongly influence arthropod diversity, but few studies have tried to disentangle such effects. In this study, we examined the independent effects of plant productivity and leaf traits on the taxon richness...