The contribution of roadsides to connect grassland habitat patches for butterflies in landscapes of contrasting permeability

Fischer, Christina; Hanslin, Hans Martin; D’Amico, Marcello; Kollmann, Johannes; Kroeger, Svenja B.; Bastianelli, Giulia; Habel, Jan Christian; Rygne, Helena; Lennartsson, Tommy

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114846

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…As proven for various groups of arthropods, diversity and abundance of species decreases with agricultural intensi cation and subsequent landscape homogenization, even in high quality nature reserves embedded in such homogenous landscapes (Habel et al 2016). Hereby, not all species respond identically on agricultural intensi cation (Flohre et al 2011, Winqvist et al 2014, Fischer et al 2022). We assume that species depending on extensively used ecosystems, such as semi-natural grasslands and hedgerows as well as species with restricted dispersal behaviour suffer particularly under landscape homogenization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the last decades, extensively used meadows and elds have been taken into intense use, elds have been merged, copses removed and the edges of elds were straightened to allow intense cultivation with large agricultural machinery. This has resulted in the disappearance of numerous small habitats that often existed along the edges of and between land plots and represented valuable stepping stones and corridors to many organisms at the landscape scale (Emmerson et al 2016, Fischer et al 2022. This optimization of land-use led to a strong spatial as well as temporal homogenization of entire landscapes, with dramatic consequences for biodiversity (Flohre et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Landscape homogenization correlates with decreasing butterfly diversity

Habel

Schmitt

Ulrich

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Agricultural intensification leads to a strong homogenization of landscapes. Plots have become larger, boundaries of fields straight, and land plots have been cultivated more intensively. Field copses, ruderal areas and hedgerows were removed. As a result, most of these small-scale habitats located at the edges of fields have disappeared. Thus, many potential habitats of plant and animal species have been destroyed, and the permeability of the landscape decreased during the past decades. Landscape homogenization consequently impacts biodiversity and reduces species richness and abundance of many taxa. In this study, we surveyed changes of land cover and landscape configuration on a field-by-field basis, based on historical (1953) and recent (2018) aerial and satellite images. We further compiled data of butterfly diversity for the same time periods and region. Our data show significant decrease of field copses over the past decades. The landscape structure changed towards rather homogenous fields with straight boundaries among single land plots. The expected number of species per sample unit of an assumed species decreased significantly. Particularly butterflies relying on oligotrophic and xerothermic grasslands decreased, as well as sedentary specialist species. In contrast, the proportion of ubiquitous and mobile generalist species increased. This underlines the general trend of faunal homogenization and the loss of specialized and sedentary species, in the wake of landscape homogenization.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape homogenization correlates with decreasing butterfly diversity

Habel

Schmitt

Ulrich

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Furthermore, they show a similar diversity and higher abundance of insects than surrounding grassland habitats (Villemey et al., 2018) and can provide ecosystem services such as pollination and pest control for surrounding agricultural areas, carbon storage, regulation of air, water, soil and associated pollution and cultural services, such as aesthetics for pedestrians and road users (reviewed by Phillips et al., 2020). Therefore, road verges receive increasing attention in conservation efforts of cities and communities as refuges for biodiversity (Fischer et al., 2022; New et al., 2021; Villemey et al., 2018). However, to comply with safety regulations such as reducing risks due to impaired sight, road verges must be mown regularly (Unterseher & Stottele, 2016), which affects residing animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microhymenoptera in roadside verges and the potential of arthropod‐friendly mowing for their preservation

Haas‐Renninger,

Weber,

Felske

et al. 2023

J Applied Entomology

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The worldwide decline of insects is one of the major challenges for humankind. One of its main drivers is intensive farming, which reduces habitats and food resources for insect populations and causes direct mortality by pesticides. In addition, mowing of grassland poses another threat to insects, especially when it is done frequently, such as in roadside verges. Roadside verges comprise large areas worldwide and can serve as habitats for animals and plants and as corridors to connect populations when they are maintained ecologically, for example when mowing is done arthropod‐friendly and with low frequency. Microhymenoptera are highly diverse, mostly show a parasitoid lifestyle and occur in large numbers in meadows and grasslands. Although they have an important ecological function in regulating their arthropod host populations, they were mostly neglected in studies on the influence of mowing on insects. Therefore, we assessed which families of microhymenoptera occur in roadside verges and meadows, examined if they are affected by the mowing process with a conventional mulching mower, and studied which groups benefit from arthropod‐friendly mowing, using the mowing head Eco 1200 plus from MULAG, and a flushing bar made of track tarpaulin. In our experimental grassland plots, we found specimens of 18 families from the six microhymenoptera superfamilies Chalcidoidea, Ceraphronoidea, Diaprioidea, Ichneumonoidea, Platygastroidea and Proctotrupoidea. Mowing with a conventional mulching mower caused a significant loss of up to 64% for parasitoid Hymenoptera. The Eco 1200 plus showed an arthropod‐friendly effect only on the number of individuals of Chalcidoidea, saving 38% of individuals compared with the conventional mower. The flushing bar showed a significant effect on total number of individuals with a reduction only on Chalcidoidea and a tendency for Ichneumonoidea with 30% and 47%, respectively. Our study demonstrates the detrimental effect of mowing with a conventional mulching mower on microhymenoptera and shows that this effect can be partly reversed for Chalcidoidea and Ichneumonoidea through the arthropod‐friendly mower and a flushing bar. Our study highlights the importance to consider microhymenoptera in the context of insect decline.

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“…Thus, roads can potentially increase as well as decrease the ecological capacity of a species' habitat and in addition, might act as ecological traps. Because these relationships are complex with potential consequences for population dynamics (Fischer et al 2022;Kroeger et al 2021), we need to study them at the relevant spatial scales.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of roads on space use by European hares in different landscapes

Mayer

Fischer

Blaum

et al. 2022

Preprint

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ContextRoads are ubiquitous in human inhabited landscapes, and can impact animal movement and population dynamics, due to barrier effects, road mortality, but also by providing resources at road verges. Thus, we need a better understanding of how roads, in interaction with seasonal changes in habitat structure, affect space use and habitat selection of the animals that persist in these landscapes.ObjectivesHere, we used the European hare (Lepus europaeus) as model species to investigate how human-induced changes in landscape composition – measured as road density, land cover type, and field size – affect home range location, seasonal habitat selection and road crossings, which are likely to correlate with wildlife-vehicle collision risk.MethodsWe collected >240,000 GPS positions of 90 hares from three populations (one in Denmark and two in Germany) that differed regarding agricultural intensification and road density. Using this data, we analyzed home range location and habitat selection (using step-selection functions) in relation to roads, habitat composition, and seasonality, and quantified how these factors affected road crossings by hares.ResultsIn comparatively more heterogeneous landscapes, hares established home ranges in areas with lower road densities compared to the surrounding area, but not in more simple landscapes. Moreover, hares generally avoided main roads and selected for minor roads during the vegetation growth seasons, especially in areas with comparatively less heterogeneous habitat structure. After accounting for main road density, the number of main road crossings was comparatively higher in simpler landscapes, and the number of daily main road crossing changed seasonally.ConclusionsOur findings emphasize that it is important to distinguish between road types, as different roads can have different impacts on animals (e.g. small roads providing foraging opportunities via roadside vegetation and large roads being avoided). Moreover, animals in comparatively more heterogeneous landscapes are better able to adjust their habitat selection to avoid main roads than animals inhabiting simpler landscapes. More generally, homogenous landscapes increase the space use requirements of animals, leading to increased probability of road crossings, which in turn might affect population dynamics via increased road mortality risk.

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The contribution of roadsides to connect grassland habitat patches for butterflies in landscapes of contrasting permeability

Cited by 8 publications

References 48 publications

Landscape homogenization correlates with decreasing butterfly diversity

Landscape homogenization correlates with decreasing butterfly diversity

Microhymenoptera in roadside verges and the potential of arthropod‐friendly mowing for their preservation

Influence of roads on space use by European hares in different landscapes

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