PubMed · 2026-05-19
A decade-long study in China found that warming springs are causing larks and grasshoppers to fall out of sync — when birds hatch too late to control young grasshoppers, grasshopper populations explode, stripping grasslands of plant diversity and productivity.
A 10-year survey (2014–2024) documented significant phenological mismatches between lark hatching and grasshopper nymph emergence in Inner Mongolia grasslands, with April mean temperature as the strongest driver.
The phenological mismatch index explained more of the year-to-year variation in net primary productivity (plant growth) than climate variables alone, and NPP declined as the mismatch grew larger.
A 3-year bird-exclusion experiment confirmed the mechanism: removing lark predation caused grasshopper abundance to surge, leading to measurable declines in plant species diversity, aboveground biomass, and soil quality.