Arthropod biomass increase in spring correlates with NDVI in grassland habitat

Data from remote sensing are often used as proxies to quantify biological processes, especially at large geographical scales. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is the most frequently used proxy for primary productivity. Assuming a direct, positive interrelation between primary and secondary production in terrestrial habitats, NDVI is often used to predict food availability for higher trophic levels. However, the relationship between NDVI and arthropod biomass has rarely been tested. In this study, we analyzed extensive datasets of arthropod communities from semi-natural grasslands in central Europe to test the relationship between arthropod biomass of consumer trophic levels ("herbivores," "mixed," and "carnivores") in grassland communities and NDVI during the spring season. We found that arthropod biomass generally increased with NDVI. The same positive relationship between biomass and NDVI was observed for each individual trophic level. Cross-correlation analyses did not show statistically significant lags between the NDVI and biomass of herbivores and carnivores. All in all, our study provides correlational evidence for the positive relation of primary and secondary productivity in temperate terrestrial habitats during spring. Moreover, it supports the applicability of NDVI data as a suitable habitat-specific proxy for the food availability of insectivores during spring.