Impact of established shrub shelterbelts around oases on the diversity of ground beetles in arid ecosystems of Northwestern China

Abstract

Abstract Oases in arid regions of northwestern China are main sites for agriculture and human settlement. Conservation of these important oasis habitats involves establishing shrub shelterbelts around the oases. We investigated how different types of shrub shelterbelts affect the diversity of ground beetles. We sampled carabid and tenebrionid assemblages with pitfall traps in spring and summer and measured key environmental variables in four habitats of the arid region: planted stands of pure and mixed plantations of two long‐lived shrubs (Haloxylon ammodendron and Tamarix ramosissima) and natural grassland (NG) from which planted systems were converted. Beetle abundance and species richness reduced significantly in the pure plantations but the mixed plantation had similar abundance and higher richness in spring and lower richness in summer relative to NG. We found differences in response between functional groups of beetles. The pure plantations resulted in reduced abundance and richness of herbivores and detritivores and increased predator abundance in spring and reduced predator abundance in summer. The mixed plantation resulted in increased detritivore richness in spring and reduced detritivore richness in summer as well as increased herbivore abundance in spring and reduced herbivore and predator abundance and richness in summer. The beetle community was largely determined by shrub cover and herbaceous plant diversity. We conclude that the pure shrub plantations reduce beetle diversity, whereas the mixed shrub plantation has less adverse effect on beetle diversity. Shrub mixtures can therefore be a practical measure to minimise the negative impacts of shrub shelterbelts on beetles.