Abstract: The homogenization and fragmentation of agricultural landscape is one of the important reasons for the losses of agricultural biodiversity in modern times. In order to clarify the impacts of landscape heterogeneity on arthropod diversity, we analyzed the correlation between arthropod diversity and landscape heterogeneity at different scales in Changtu County, a typical agricultural area in the Lower Liaohe Plain. The results showed that 1000 m was the optimal scale to study the effects of landscape index on arthropod diversity in farmlands. Simpson diversity index of arthropods was significantly correlated with landscape’s Shannon diversity index (P<0.01), landscape’s CONTAG index, and Shannon evenness index (P<0.05). The diversity of arthropods was higher and the distribution was uniform when the agricultural landscape was heterogeneous, the patch types were complex and there were dominant patches. Shannon diversity index of arthropods was extremely significantly correlated with landscape’s Shannon diversity index (P<0.01). Margalef richness index of arthropods was significantly correlated with landscape’s Shannon diversity index (P<0.05). The number of ground-dwelling arthropod species in farmlands was higher and the community was more complex when the degree of landscape fragmentation was low, the number of patch types was small, and the complexity and variability of patch types were low.

Key words: agricultural landscape, landscape index, landscape scale, landscape heterogeneity, ground-dwelling arthropods.