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Do Grasshoppers Diminish Grassland Productivity? A New Perspective for Control Based on Conservation

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Grasshoppers and Grassland Health

Part of the book series: NATO Science Series ((ASEN2,volume 73))

Abstract

Experimental studies of the effects of grasshopper consumption on plant production are presented. The long held claim that grasshopper consumption of plants in some years can reduce forage for livestock and wildlife is supported. However, examining grasshopper consumption over a longer term (multiple years), I find that grasshoppers enhance plant production. This emerges because grasshoppers accelerate nutrient cycling primarily by increasing the proportion of litter provided by faster decomposing plants. The greater availability of nutrients further increases the abundance of faster decomposing plants because they are competitively favored under these conditions and this further enhances nutrient availability and plant production. Therefore, the short-term loss of forage for livestock and wildlife is outweighed by the long-term enhancement of forage production. The rangeland conditions which lead to grasshoppers producing beneficial production effects are reviewed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology Center and Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, 84322, USA

    G. E. Belovsky

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  1. G. E. Belovsky
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Entomology Section, Department of Renewable Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA

    Jeffrey A. Lockwood  & Alexandre V. Latchininsky  & 

  2. Department of General Biology, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia

    Jeffrey A. Lockwood , Alexandre V. Latchininsky  & Michael G. Sergeev ,  & 

  3. Association for Applied Acridology International, USA

    Michael G. Sergeev

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Belovsky, G.E. (2000). Do Grasshoppers Diminish Grassland Productivity? A New Perspective for Control Based on Conservation. In: Lockwood, J.A., Latchininsky, A.V., Sergeev, M.G. (eds) Grasshoppers and Grassland Health. NATO Science Series, vol 73. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4337-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-4337-0_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-6530-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-011-4337-0

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