Three rangeland sites (mountain, foothill, and plains) in central Montana were surveyed for arthropods to determine their abundance and potential impact upon the vegetation. A vacuum quick trap (sampling method) showed that seven orders of arthropods were important on the basis of abundance and/or above-ground biomass: Acarina (mites); Thysanoptera (thrips); Collembola (springtails); Orthoptera (grasshoppers); Hemiptera (true bugs); Homoptera (leafhoppers and plant lice); and Hymenoptera (ants). The grasshoppers, true bugs, leafhoppers, and thrips consume parts of the plants and thus directly affect forage production. Springtails, mites (Oribatidae), and ants vary greatly in their habits and may affect forage production indirectly by breaking down organic matter in the soil or by affecting population densities of other insect species. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.