Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Solar Energy News .




FLORA AND FAUNA
Land management as a key to countering butterfly declines
by Staff Writers
London, UK (SPX) Nov 22, 2013


This is purple-edged copper (Lycaena hippothoe), a species closely associated with semi-natural grasslands. Credit: Lars Pettersson.

Currently, butterfly populations in many countries decline at alarming rates. Many of these populations are closely associated with the agricultural landscape. Changes in farming practises and land use can therefore have far-reaching consequences for the success and persistence of the butterfly fauna.

A research team from Sweden and Germany have now reviewed effects of land management on butterfly diversity using historical and current surveys during the last 100 years.

The study focuses on systematic surveys of butterfly population trends and extinction rates in southern Swedish agricultural landscapes. In some areas, half of the butterfly fauna has been lost during the last 60-100 years. The study is published in the journal Nature Conservation.

Land use in these parts of northern Europe has changed markedly with key butterfly habitats such as hay meadows disappearing at alarming rates. Grazed, mixed open woodlands

have been transformed into dense forests and domestic grazers have been relocated from woodlands to arable fields and semi-natural grasslands. Hay and silage harvest now start much earlier in the season which reduces the time available for larval development.

The changed and intensified land use has also markedly reduced the availability of nectar resources in the landscape. Adding to these problems, current agricultural subsidy systems favour intensive grazing on the remaining semi-natural grasslands, with strong negative effects on butterfly diversity.

While the documented changes in farming practises and land use are problematic for the butterfly fauna, relatively minor adjustments to land management have a potential of drastically counteracting these effects.

In order to mitigate risks of further species loss and to work towards recovery of threatened butterfly populations, the review ends by recommending twelve management measures favourable for many butterflies. Examples include later grazing, rotational grazing with parts of semi-natural grasslands grazed only in late summer in some years, and careful choice of grazers.

.


Related Links
STEP-project
Darwin Today At TerraDaily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








FLORA AND FAUNA
Evolution can select for evolvability
Philadelphia, PA (SPX) Nov 22, 2013
Evolution does not operate with a goal in mind; it does not have foresight. But organisms that have a greater capacity to evolve may fare better in rapidly changing environments. This raises the question: does evolution favor characteristics that increase a species' ability to evolve? For several years, biologists have attempted to provide evidence that natural selection has acted on evolv ... read more


FLORA AND FAUNA
Let's just harvest invasive species and the problem is solved

Microbiologists reveal unexpected properties of methane-producing microbe

Boeing Amnd GOL To Boost Aviation Biofuel Production In Brazil

Neutron scattering and supercomputer demystify forces at play in biofuels

FLORA AND FAUNA
Penguin-inspired propulsion system

Artificial heart to pump human waste into future robots

Quantum world record smashed

Distant artificial atoms cooperate by sharing light, international research team shows

FLORA AND FAUNA
IKEA invests in Canadian wind project

High bat mortality from wind turbines

Wind turbines blamed in death of estimated 600,000 bats in 2012

Assessing impact of noise from offshore wind farm construction may help protect marine mammals

FLORA AND FAUNA
Nissan says struggling to satisfy China growth

Toyota strikes first-ever hybrid parts sharing deal in China

Tokyo Motor Show focuses on eco-friendly cars

Honda Accord wins green car prize at LA Auto show

FLORA AND FAUNA
EU: Deal nearly done for reverse gas flows from Slovakia to Ukraine

Cutting-edge coal plants planned in Fukushima: report

Ben Gurion Researchers Develop New Type of Crude Oil Using Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen

Outside View: The strange debate over LNG exports

FLORA AND FAUNA
Westinghouse eyes nuclear power plants for Saudis

Westinghouse and John Barrow Celebrate Construction Progress at Plant Vogtle

IAEA experts to revisit Fukushima to review shutdown plan

Bolivia says it's on track to develop nuclear power

FLORA AND FAUNA
Serbia signs power plant deal with China

Exxon to sell Hong Kong power company stake

Honda's 'Hydrogen Boy' pees his way to a cleaner world

Tennessee Valley Authority Makes Major Coal Plant Retirement Announcement

FLORA AND FAUNA
Rising concerns over tree pests and diseases

Bait research focused on outsmarting destructive beetle

Landsat Data Yield Best View to Date of Global Forest Losses, Gains

Has the idea of 'zero deforestation' lost its meaning




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement