Desert nitrogen cycles : Fecal nitrogen from a population of the sahelian tree locust in Oman

Abstract EN

This research quantifies the amount of nitrogen deposited by the tree locust, Anacridium melanorhodon, during an irregular population outbreak in Acacia tortillas woodland in Oman.

The average standing crop of feces was 65.28g m-2.

The mean fecal crude protein and nitrogen were respectively, 20.14 and 3.22 g / 100 g ash-free dry weight.

A hectare of this woodland would contain approximately 1.1 kg of fecal nitrogen beneath the trees.

This single contribution by the locusts equals about one-third of the total standing crop of detrital nitrogen under perennial vegetation in a hectare of the Mohave Desert of North America.

This, and the fact that grasshoppers are diverse and seasonally abundant in deserts, suggests they may be important organisms in nitrogen cycles.