Arthropod sampling methods & Classification
The sampling of arthropods was conducted from 2019 to 2020 during the
peak of plant growth in each growing season. A randomly removable
subplot (1 m × 1 m) was selected in the center of each experimental
plot, and arthropods therein were collected by using an electric suction
sampler connected with a long gauze bag (Brook et al., 2008). Samples
were taken from August to September in 2019 and 2020. The following taxa
were collected and identified in 2019 and 2020: Diptera, Hymenoptera,
Coleoptera, Araneae, Opiliones, Heteroptera, Orthoptera, Thysanoptera,
Odonata, Collembola, Lepidoptera, Corrodentia, Neuroptera and
Collembola. All of the taxa listed above represent all the arthropods we
collected and mostly identified to species or genus level, but
Hymenoptera (mainly parasitic wasp), Collembola and minority of
Heteroptera (leafhopper) were identified to family or superfamily. The
arthropod samples were preserved in 95% ethyl alcohol. We distinguished
all arthropods into eight functional groups, including herbivores (plant
suckers and plant chewers), carnivores (parasitoids, web spiders, ground
hunters and vegetation-associated
hunters), omnivores and detritivores to evaluate the difference of their
responses to climate changes. We calculated the arthropod richness and
abundance as the number of taxa and individuals in each sampling plot,
respectively.