EAPSI: Understanding the Interactions Between Precipitation and Pastureland Management Strategies in Contributing to Locust Outbreaks

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Locust swarms affect the livelihoods of many people worldwide, across more than 60 different countries. Recent research suggests locust swarms can be triggered in response to low nitrogen in their host plants. Intensive grazing is known to trigger these low-nitrogen conditions. Similarly, past evidence supports that increased precipitation may increase the rate at which soil nitrogen stocks are depleted, leading to favorable conditions for locust outbreaks. These interactions are particularly important to understand given increased worldwide demand for animal products and expectations for increased rainfall in the region, which unmanaged could increase the frequency and intensity of locust outbreaks. This project will be conducted in collaboration with Dr. Le Kang at the Inner Mongolia Grassland Ecosystem Research Station (IMGERS) in Inner Mongolia, China. IMGERS has several parcels under long-term management utilizing different grazing systems, and is an area of intensive research on the Mongolian locust, Oedaleus asiaticus.This study will utilize a paired plot design, sampling from 1m circular plots on continuously grazed parcels at 1.5 and 9 sheep/ha stocking rates. Each plot will receive either an ambient (1x) or supplemented (2x) precipitation treatment. Soil NO3- and NH4+ will serve as response variables, collected using partially enclosed ion-exchange resin membranes over two week intervals on each plot. Grass nitrogen and carbon content will be measured to assess plant nutrient uptake across treatments, and confined, field-captured locust nymphs will be used to assess the optimality of host plants as a food source in response to treatment type. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.