Reports

Insect Diversity: Addressing an Important but Strongly Neglected Research Topic in China

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  • 1. UCL Department of Geography, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK;
    2. College of Life and Environmental Science, Central University for Nationalities, Beijing 100082, China;
    3. The State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, CAS, Beijing 100093, China

Received date: 2011-08-22

  Revised date: 2011-11-16

  Online published: 2011-12-22

Supported by

the China Bureau of Foreign Experts and the Ministry of Education of China (111 Program, Grant 2008-B08044), the Key Basic Research Project “973” (2010CB951301-5) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Fellowship for Young International Scientists (Fellowship Number 2010Y1SA16).

Abstract

Insects are not only the most species-rich group on Earth, they also play numerous crucial roles in ecosystem functioning and the global economy. The conservation of insect diversity is therefore a topic of global importance. However, insects are mostly ignored by “biodiversity” research; for example, relationships between insect diversity and vegetation or climate change remain widely unknown. This paper makes suggestions for further research into insect diversity patterns based on two typical forest types in northern China: Changbai Mountain, northeast China and Dongling Mountain, central northern China. Plants and climate have been well studied in these areas but substantial knowledge gaps prevail in relation to insect diversity patterns. It is therefore important to investigate insect biodiversity patterns in these regions.

Cite this article

ZOU Yi, FENG Jinchao, XUE Dayuan, SANG Weiguo, Jan AXMACHER . Insect Diversity: Addressing an Important but Strongly Neglected Research Topic in China[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2011 , 2(4) : 380 -384 . DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-764x.2011.04.013

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