[Arthropod community structure and its fuzzy clustering analysis in jujube orchard]

Based on the principles of community ecology and by the method of fuzzy clustering, this paper studied the temporal and quantitative dynamics of the arthropod community and sub-community in jujube orchard (Feidong 2003), aimed to utilize natural enemy resources for pest control. There were 52 species of arthropod belonging to 47 families in the orchard. Arachnida and Cecidomyidae had a higher relative abundance than other families being 0.3465 and 0.2309, respectively. The individuals of the arthropod community were the highest on 8 June and 21 September. The total community and pests-neutral insect sub-community could be clustered into 4 clusters, respectively. For total community, the clusters (T = 0.92) were those on 22 March, 6 April, 22 November, and on other dates, and for pests-neutral insect sub-community, they (T = 0.94) were those on 22 March, 6 April, 8 June, and on other dates. The natural enemy sub-community could be clustered into 3 clusters (T = 0.94), i. e., those on 22 March, on 6 April, and on other dates. The results of cluster analysis partly reflected the seasonal differences of total community and sub-community, while the temporal overlaps of cluster results reflected the complexity of community structure.