Abstract

Vegetation and grasshopper community variables were monitored on the natural steppes grazed by livestock in the Inner Mongolia, China. Species richness, diversity and evenness of grasshoppers on the plots under different grazing intensities were compared. Change in plant community directly affected the species composition of grasshoppers. However, floral parameters were not entirely parallel to characteristics of grasshopper community. Moderate grazing could preserve more diverse grasshoppers with lower proportion of pest species. The importance of some grasshopper indicators to grassland change was discussed