The severe decline of butterflies on western German calcareous grasslands during the last 30 years: A conservation problem

Wenzel, Miriam; Schmitt, Thomas; Weitzel, Matthias; Seitz, Alfred

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2005.10.022

Cited by 141 publications

(117 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…European farmland biodiversity, in a result, declined (Thomas et al 2004;Donald et al 2006). Therefore, conservation and knowledge of diminishing valuable habitats in agricultural landscapes are of key importance for saving endangered farmland biodiversity (Wenzel et al 2006;Tryjanowski et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of management intensity and orchard features on bird communities in winter

Myczko

Rosin

Skórka

et al. 2013

Ecological Research

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The knowledge and conservation of diminishing valuable habitats in agricultural landscapes are of key importance in saving declining farmland biodiversity. One of these habitats is the traditional orchard whose role in supporting birds is still poorly known, especially in winter. We counted birds in 106 orchards differing in management intensity (abandoned, traditional, and intensive) during December 2009 and January 2010 in Wielkopolska, western Poland and measured site characteristics and composition of surrounding landscapes for every orchard. Old abandoned and traditionally managed orchards had significantly higher bird species richness than intensive ones. Irrespective of orchard type, bird species richness as well as density were positively influenced by the cover of unmown herb layer in orchards and tree diversity. Tree and fruit densities positively affected bird species richness and density mainly in abandoned orchards while in other orchard types the effect of these variables was less pronounced. Land cover diversity in a landscape had a positive effect on species richness and density mostly in abandoned orchards and we believe that this effect reflects the elevated utilization of such orchards by birds from the surrounding landscape. Thus, abandoned, as well as traditionally managed orchards seems to be especially important habitats that offer food source and refuge for wintering birds and should be protected. We propose to diversify fruit production by planting various tree species, leaving part of the herb layer unmown and several trees unharvested in intensive orchards in order to improve suitability of modern orchards for birds.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of management intensity and orchard features on bird communities in winter

Myczko

Rosin

Skórka

et al. 2013

Ecological Research

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“…Assessments of species positions on such lists should ideally be based on thorough knowledge of their biology and ecology and how these afect the species vulnerability to threats (Margules and Pressey 2000; Mattila et al 2006). Despite the fact that butterlies comprise one of the most studied invertebrate groups, such knowledge is nevertheless available for only a very limited number of butterly species (van Swaay 2002;Wenzel et al 2006;Müller et al 2010). Therefore, for their successful conservation, it is important to identify traits that predispose butterly species to extinction risk (Mattila et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult longevity and its relationship with conservation status in European butterflies

et al. 2016

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“…They have also affected the spatial structure of habitats, usually increasing their fragmentation, which threatens the survival of numerous species (Krauss et al 2005;Pöyry 2007). One of the main groups of organisms negatively affected by these processes are butterflies Wenzel et al 2006;K} orösi et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Management activities may improve the quality of habitat patches of individual species (Kruess and Tscharntke 2002;Sawchik et al 2003;Wenzel et al 2006). This is particularly true for many endangered butterflies, which have suffered from long-term land abandonment leading to meadow succession and subsequent penetration by shrubs and trees (Morris 2000;Hula et al 2004;Pöyry et al 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land management impacts on European butterflies of conservation concern: a review

et al. 2015

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Recent land use changes, namely the intensification of agriculture and forestry as well as the abandonment of traditional grassland management methods, have resulted in the decline of butterfly diversity in Europe. Appropriate management of butterfly habitats is thus required in order to reverse this negative trend. The aim of our study was to review the available literary information concerning the effects of various types of management on European butterflies of conservation concern, and to provide practical recommendations for the management of butterfly habitats. Since vegetation succession is a major threat to butterfly populations, there is a need for activities to suppress this process. Extensive grazing and rotational mowing, which imitate the traditional way of meadow use, appear to be the most suitable management in this respect. Both grazing and mowing should optimally be of low intensity and follow a mosaic design, with different land fragments being successively used at different times. Habitat disturbance through trampling, either associated with grazing or various sporting activities (hiking, biking, horse riding), or through occasional small-area burning, also prove to be beneficial for many butterflies. In the case of woodland species, maintaining open habitats within forests (glades, clearings, wide road verges) and thinning forest stands is recommended. Among the unfavourable management activities identified, the most harmful are afforestation of open lands and drainage works. Therefore, such activities must be stopped at butterfly sites in order to ensure the effective conservation of species of conservation concern.

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The severe decline of butterflies on western German calcareous grasslands during the last 30 years: A conservation problem

Cited by 141 publications

References 28 publications

Effects of management intensity and orchard features on bird communities in winter

Effects of management intensity and orchard features on bird communities in winter

Adult longevity and its relationship with conservation status in European butterflies

Land management impacts on European butterflies of conservation concern: a review

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