Re-Establishment of Auchenorrhyncha (Hemiptera) Assemblages Following Heath and Grassland Habitat Creation on Lowland Farmland

Leafhopper and planthopper (Auchenorryncha) assemblages were investigated at a lowland site in the United Kingdom supporting acidic and mesotrophic grasslands reverting from agricultural use, alongside remnants of semi-natural acidic heath. Further areas of agricultural land had been subject to soil inversion with or without addition of sulphur, heather brash and seed material to establish acidic heath or mesotrophic grassland. Eleven years after work commenced, Auchenorrhyncha assemblages of heath created on former arable land were most closely related to those of remnant semi-natural heath and reversion acidic grasslands. In contrast, an area of heath created on former pasture eight years previously, and at an earlier stage of development, supported an insect assemblage more closely related to those of mesotrophic grasslands. Time since creation, former land use and degree of isolation are identified as potential factors determining the similarity between Auchenorrhyncha assemblages of the remnant and created heaths.