Studies on the Relationships between Distribution of Orthopterans and Vegetation Types in the Xilin River Basin District, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Abstract:In this paper,the distribution of 59 species of Orthopter and 16 types of habitat in the Xilin River Basin district were studied by popular numerical calssification (Hierachial clustering method). The environmental condition and on-the-spot inverstigation was also used in interpreting the clustering results. The clustering diagram (Fig. 1) shows that 16 habitats of Orthoptera can be classified into 5 habitat forms and 2 habitat sub-forms, namely typical steppe form, meadow steppe form, sand dune vegetation form of shade-slope, abandoned field form and meadow form (including salt meadow sub-form and marsh meadow sub-form). 59 species of Orthoptera can be classified into 10 ecological species group (Fig. 2 ), in which each one has a similar or the same habitat selection. The authors of this paper think that vegetation types and moisture condition are the main factors influencing the distribution of Orthopterans in the district. Both the taxonmic composition and physical structure of vegetation are found to play an important role in the species richness of orthoptera.In addition, the ecological indictor importance of some orthopterans was demonstrated. The influence of grassland cultivation on fauna of Orthoptera was discussed.