Linking Rangeland Management with the Nutritional Physiology and Ecology of Locusts

Linking Rangeland Management with the Nutritional Physiology and Ecology of Locusts

Rangeland management practices alter soil and plant characteristics and communities. These changes have implications for the success of pests common to grass and forage systems. Understanding how pests respond to anthropogenic influences is a key variable for the development of sustainable pest management strategies that minimize potential risk and severity of pest damage. For example, heavy livestock grazing in northeast China promotes locust outbreaks by lowering plant nitrogen content. This in turn likely decreases the amount of protein, relative to carbohydrate, that locusts receive. In this case, a low protein/high carbohydrate diet is just what this locust species needs to thrive. While many environmental factors influence locust outbreaks and plagues around the globe, understanding the interactions between livestock grazing, range quality, and locust populations is central to developing integrated control practices.