Relationship of occurrence of Fruhstorferiola tonkinensis Will. and plant communities on riversides in northern Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Plant communities on riversides in northern Guangdong Province were investigated with all-survey method, where a kind of native grasshopper Fruhstorferiola tonkinensis Will. broke out severely. 108 plant species belonging to 43 families were identified, and some plant indexes in those plant communities including their name, average height, congregation index, total coverage rate, phenological phase and biod were noted. In addition, plant comparability, plant abundance, quantity character and attribute symbol of dominant species in plant communities on riversides were studied. The results showed that the arrangement and distribution of vegetations on riversides offered a favorable habitat for F. tonkinensis. Moreover, the density of first instar nymphs of F. tonkinensis in plant communities was calculated. The results of partial correlation analysis (PCA) about the relationship between plant communities and occurrence of F. tonkinensis showed that Pterocarya stenoptera C. DC. was the most palatable plant to F. tonkinensis, presenting a very significantly positive correlation between coverage rate of P. stenoptera and occurrence of F. tonkinensis. The partial correlation coefficient (PCC) was 0.856072 ( F=32.92012, P=0.0001). Bambusa flexuosa was a non-preferable plant of F. tonkinensis, presenting a significantly negative correlation between them, and the partial correlation coefficient was −0.607920 ( F=0.16173, P=0.0211). Those results would help us to propose some approaches for the ecology control of F. tonkinensis on riversides in northern Guangdong Province.