Insect Community and Environmental Heterogeneity Dataset for Four Habitats in a Central Asian Montane Wet-Island Ecosystem (2024)

Abstract This dataset encompasses multi-dimensional environmental heterogeneity factors and insect community data collected from four distinct habitats within a Central Asian montane wet-island ecosystem in 2024. The data are structured to facilitate analysis of the driving mechanisms behind insect diversity patterns and functional group composition in response to environmental gradients. Data Files and Contents The dataset comprises three comma-separated values (.csv) files: 1. **`Integrated_InsectCommunity_EnvironmentalFactors_CentralAsiaWetIsland_2024.csv`**: Integrates insect community metrics with environmental variables for each sampling site. 2. **`CentralAsia_WetIsland_InsectDiversity_2024.csv`**: Contains insect alpha-diversity indices for each site, including species richness (TaxaS), individual abundance (N), Shannon-Wiener index (H'), Simpson dominance index (D), Pielou evenness index (J), and Margalef richness index (M). 3. **`Insect_FunctionalGroup_Composition_CentralAsiaWetIsland_2024.csv`**: Records the abundance of insects classified into six resource-use-based functional groups: herbivores (hb), predators (pd), parasitoids (pr), omnivores (ov), saprophages (sp), and pollinators (pl). Methodology * **Study Area & Habitats**: Data were collected from four habitat types [(A)montane broad‒leaved forest, (B) montane shrubland, (C) montane grassland, and (D) montane spruce forest)] in the the western Tianshan Mountains. * **Environmental Factors**: * *Vegetation*: Plant species richness (PS), height (PH), cover (PC), and biomass (PB) were measured following standard protocols (Pérez-Harguindeguy et al., 2016). * *Soil*: Soil temperature (ST), moisture (SM), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salt content (SS), and available nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were measured at 15 cm depth using a handheld soil tester. * *Microclimate*: Air temperature (AT), humidity (AH) at 1.5 m, wind speed (WS) at 2 m, and ambient noise (AN) were recorded with a handheld environmental meter. * **Insect Sampling**: Insects were systematically collected using pitfall trapping, sweep‒netting, and standardized visual surveys, identified to operational taxonomic units or species level, and counted. Variable Notes * All environmental data are site-level measurements. * Insect diversity indices were calculated from species-individual matrices. * Functional groups were assigned based on known larval and adult trophic ecology. * Missing data is represented as `NA`. Potential for Reuse This dataset is suitable for meta-analyses on mountain biodiversity, studies on species-environment relationships, and modeling of ecosystem responses to environmental change. Related Publication This dataset supports the findings of the related research article "Decoupling of insect species richness and abundance mediated by multi-dimensional environmental heterogeneity in a Central Asian montane wet‒island ecosystem" (currently under review/submitted to [Biological Conservation]).