Mosaic of grasslands and woodlands is more effective than habitat connectivity to conserve butterflies in French farmland

Villemey, Anne; Halder, Inge van; Ouin, Annie; Barbaro, Luc; Chenot, Julie; Tessier, Pauline; Calatayud, François; Martin, Hilaire; Roche, Philip; Archaux, Frédéric

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2015.06.030

Cited by 53 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…In boreal agricultural landscapes, forests generally cover large areas, but the opportunities that they provide for the conservation of grassland biota are not fully appreciated in land management. Our results support the view that forested landscapes provide excellent possibilities to enhance the conservation of grassland butterflies (Blixt et al, 2015;Korpela et al, 2015;Toivonen et al, 2015;Villemey et al, 2015;Viljur & Teder, 2016), including species with declining population trends. This does not mean that forest area should be increased in already forested regions but that existing forests should be better integrated into the conservation of grassland species.…”

Section: Conclusion and Future Perspectivessupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Four species -L. virgaureae, A. adippe, A. aglaja, and B. selenehad a strong preference for forested landscapes. Although these species prefer seminatural grasslands as their primary habitat, they may also be adapted to take advantage of other herbaceous habitats in forested landscapes, such as forest edges, tracks, and openings (Berg et al, 2011;Blixt et al, 2015;Villemey et al, 2015;Viljur & Teder, 2016). Recent studies in Northern Europe have shown that even production forestry clear-cuts, which have long been considered to make up an unsuitable matrix for butterflies, provide valuable habitats for many butterfly species (Blixt et al, 2015;Viljur & Teder, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The result supports the view that the effects of landscape context depend on the quality of the habitat patches (Kleijn & van Langevelde, 2006). In semi-natural grasslands, butterfly populations are probably less dependent on the surrounding landscape than in lower-quality habitats such as field margins: semi-natural grasslands are likely to act as population sources from which individuals disperse to the surrounding habitats ( € Ockinger & Smith, 2007a,b), whereas field margins may not be able to maintain viable populations alone and thus rely on immigration from other habitats ( € Ockinger & Smith, 2007a,b;Villemey et al, 2015); however, this does not explain why the abundances of B. ino, C. glycerion, and declining species were negatively related to forest cover in semi-natural grasslands. A possible mechanism for the negative effect is that open field margins and cultivated fields provide these butterfly species with suitable resources, such as arable weeds or suitable microclimate, that are absent from forest matrix.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Kr€ amer et al, 2012; € Ockinger et al, 2012a,b;Villemey et al, 2015). Even butterfly species with declining population trends benefitted from forest, a result which differs Observed total abundance of grassland butterflies in three open habitat types in relation to forest cover in the 200-m buffer of the surrounding landscape together with a line depicting predicted total grassland butterfly abundance based on the generalised linear mixed model of the combined data from the three habitat types.…”

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confidence: 99%

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High cover of forest increases the abundance of most grassland butterflies in boreal farmland

Toivonen

Peltonen

Herzon

et al. 2017

Insect Conserv Diversity

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High cover of forest in the landscape matrix has been shown to weaken the negative effects of habitat fragmentation on grassland butterflies. No studies have however focused on examining species‐specific responses of grassland butterflies to forest. The data from 3 years of butterfly monitoring in Southern Finland were used to test whether the amount of forest cover in the surrounding landscape affected the abundance of grassland butterfly species in semi‐natural grasslands, field margins, and forest edges. More than half of the studied species benefitted from high cover of forest. Species with the strongest preference for forested landscapes were Lycaena virgaureae, Argynnis adippe, Argynnis aglaja, and Boloria selene, which probably find suitable resources in herbaceous habitats at forest edges and clearings. Several small‐sized species were positively affected by surrounding forest cover in field margins but not in the other habitat types. Although field margins are suboptimal habitats for grassland butterflies, they provide important corridors for dispersal. High cover of forest in the landscape matrix may enhance butterfly dispersal along field margins by reducing windiness, which is likely to be most important for small‐sized species with poor dispersal capacity. The most abundant grassland species showed little or no preference for forested landscapes. Our results suggest that high cover of forest enhances the persistence of most grassland butterflies, including declining species, in boreal agricultural landscapes. The responses to forest are however strongly dependent on species‐specific properties and habitat types.

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Section: Conclusion and Future Perspectivessupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

High cover of forest increases the abundance of most grassland butterflies in boreal farmland

Toivonen

Peltonen

Herzon

et al. 2017

Insect Conserv Diversity

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…It may be beneficial for butterflies in grassland patches through enhancing heterogeneity of landscape [80], but it concerns immediate surroundings of grasslands and disappears with increasing spatial scale [81]. Effect of woody habitats may also depend on specialization degree of studied butterfly species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relative Contribution of Matrix Structure, Patch Resources and Management to the Local Densities of Two Large Blue Butterfly Species

et al. 2016

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The type of matrix, the landscape surrounding habitat patches, may determine the distribution and function of local populations. However, the matrix is often heterogeneous, and its various components may differentially contribute to metapopulation processes at different spatial scales, a phenomenon that has rarely been investigated. The aim of this study was to estimate the relative importance of matrix composition and spatial scale, habitat quality, and management intensity on the occurrence and density of local populations of two endangered large blue butterflies: Phengaris teleius and P. nausithous. Presence and abundance data were assessed over two years, 2011–12, in 100 local patches within two heterogeneous regions (near Kraków and Tarnów, southern Poland). The matrix composition was analyzed at eight spatial scales. We observed high occupancy rates in both species, regions and years. With the exception of area and isolation, almost all of the matrix components contributed to Phengaris sp. densities. The different matrix components acted at different spatial scales (grassland cover within 4 and 3 km, field cover within 0.4 and 0.3 km and water cover within 4 km radii for P. teleius and P. nausithous, respectively) and provided the highest independent contribution to the butterfly densities. Additionally, the effects of a 0.4 km radius of forest cover and a food plant cover on P. teleius, and a 1 km radius of settlement cover and management intensity on P. nausithous densities were observed. Contrary to former studies we conclude that the matrix heterogeneity and spatial scale rather than general matrix type are of relevance for densities of butterflies. Conservation strategies for these umbrella species should concentrate on maintaining habitat quality and managing matrix composition at the most appropriate spatial scales.

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Both landscape and local factors influence plant and hexapod communities of industrial water‐abstraction sites

Thierry

Pisanu

Machon

2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Mosaic of grasslands and woodlands is more effective than habitat connectivity to conserve butterflies in French farmland

Cited by 53 publications

References 66 publications

High cover of forest increases the abundance of most grassland butterflies in boreal farmland

High cover of forest increases the abundance of most grassland butterflies in boreal farmland

Relative Contribution of Matrix Structure, Patch Resources and Management to the Local Densities of Two Large Blue Butterfly Species

Both landscape and local factors influence plant and hexapod communities of industrial water‐abstraction sites

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