Abstract: To reveal ant species diversity pattern in different ecosystems of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we investigated ant community on the northwest slope of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the adjacent areas from Tangkula Pass with an altitude of 5243 m to Aydingkol Lake of Xinjiang with an altitude of -150 m, using plot-sampling method. In total, 56 plots from seven vertical zones were surveyed, 29012 ant individuals were observed, and 26 species belonging to 12 genera and two subfamilies of Formicidae were identified. The species richness of the seven vertical zones was in an order of north slope of Dangjinshan (17 species) > Hami (16 species) > Liuyuan (13 species) > south slope of Dangjinshan (5 species) > Kunlun Mountain (4 species) > Tangkula (0 species) = Fenghuoshan (0 species). No ant species was recorded in the Tangkula and Fenghuoshan, and the north slope of Dangjinshan had the richest ant species. Species richness, individual density, and diversity index had significant correlations with canopy density, shrub coverage, litter coverage, and altitude. The similarity between ant communities from the five vertical zones having ant species was generally low, indicating different species composition of ant community. Altitude, canopy density, shrub coverage, and litter coverage could significantly influence ant species diversity of the surveyed areas. Only 26 ant species were found in the wide vertical range of 5393 m of northwest slope of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the adjacent areas, suggesting that the ecosystems of the surveyed areas are remarkably fragile and that it is thus extremely important to protect the environment.

Key words: Formicidae, diversity, community, elevational gradient, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.