Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide study
Extensively managed grasslands are globally recognized for their high biodiversity value. Over the past century, a continuous loss and degradation of grassland habitats has been observed across Europe that is mainly attributable to agricultural intensification and land abandonment. Particularly inse...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23000080 |
| _version_ | 1828053095697874944 |
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| author | Toni Kasiske Jens Dauber Alexander Harpke Sebastian Klimek Elisabeth Kühn Josef Settele Martin Musche |
| author_facet | Toni Kasiske Jens Dauber Alexander Harpke Sebastian Klimek Elisabeth Kühn Josef Settele Martin Musche |
| author_sort | Toni Kasiske |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Extensively managed grasslands are globally recognized for their high biodiversity value. Over the past century, a continuous loss and degradation of grassland habitats has been observed across Europe that is mainly attributable to agricultural intensification and land abandonment. Particularly insects have suffered from the loss of grassland habitats due to land-use change and the decrease in habitat quality, either due to an increase in livestock density, higher mowing frequency, and an increase in nitrogen fertilization, or by abandonment. However, only a few studies have used nationwide datasets to analyse the effects of land cover and land-use intensity on insects. It further remains largely unexplored how these effects are modulated by species traits, i.e. habitat specialisation and mobility. Using nationwide butterfly data originating from the German Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, we investigated the effect of three indicators related to land cover and agricultural land-use intensity on species richness as well as trait composition of butterfly communities. Based on agricultural census data at the municipality scale, we calculated the share of permanent grasslands (measure of habitat availability), the total livestock density (proxy for organic fertilization) and the livestock density of domestic herbivores (proxy for management intensity in grasslands) within a 2 km buffer surrounding each butterfly transect. To analyse the relationships between butterflies and indicators of land cover and land-use intensity, we applied generalised linear mixed effect models. We found a negative relationship between butterfly species richness and the livestock density of domestic herbivores. Further, the ratio of butterfly generalist to specialist species shifted towards generalists and the size of butterflies increased with higher herbivore livestock density, indicating a shift in communities towards mobile habitat generalists. Our results are in accordance with previous studies carried out across smaller geographic extents, highlighting the importance of low herbivore livestock densities to halt the loss of pollinating insects and safeguard biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. We here demonstrate that indicators based on livestock distribution data at the municipality scale can provide insights into processes and spatial diversity patterns of butterflies at the national level. Further, we highlight potentials and limitations of using agricultural census data to quantify and assess effects of land cover and land-use intensity on butterflies, and make recommendations for further research needs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:02:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4435f0dc78fd4b799edb480e769351c2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T20:02:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-4435f0dc78fd4b799edb480e769351c22023-01-27T04:19:35ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2023-02-01146109866Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide studyToni Kasiske0Jens Dauber1Alexander Harpke2Sebastian Klimek3Elisabeth Kühn4Josef Settele5Martin Musche6Thünen-Institute of Biodiversity, Braunschweig, Germany; Biodiversity of Agricultural Landscapes, Institute of Geoecology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany; Corresponding author at: Thünen-Institute of Biodiversity, Bundesallee 65, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany.Thünen-Institute of Biodiversity, Braunschweig, Germany; Biodiversity of Agricultural Landscapes, Institute of Geoecology, Technische Universität Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Community Ecology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, Germany; Department of Conservation Biology and Social-Ecological Systems, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, GermanyThünen-Institute of Biodiversity, Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment of Conservation Biology and Social-Ecological Systems, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, GermanyDepartment of Conservation Biology and Social-Ecological Systems, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, Germany; iDiv - German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Biological Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna, PhilippinesDepartment of Conservation Biology and Social-Ecological Systems, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, GermanyExtensively managed grasslands are globally recognized for their high biodiversity value. Over the past century, a continuous loss and degradation of grassland habitats has been observed across Europe that is mainly attributable to agricultural intensification and land abandonment. Particularly insects have suffered from the loss of grassland habitats due to land-use change and the decrease in habitat quality, either due to an increase in livestock density, higher mowing frequency, and an increase in nitrogen fertilization, or by abandonment. However, only a few studies have used nationwide datasets to analyse the effects of land cover and land-use intensity on insects. It further remains largely unexplored how these effects are modulated by species traits, i.e. habitat specialisation and mobility. Using nationwide butterfly data originating from the German Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, we investigated the effect of three indicators related to land cover and agricultural land-use intensity on species richness as well as trait composition of butterfly communities. Based on agricultural census data at the municipality scale, we calculated the share of permanent grasslands (measure of habitat availability), the total livestock density (proxy for organic fertilization) and the livestock density of domestic herbivores (proxy for management intensity in grasslands) within a 2 km buffer surrounding each butterfly transect. To analyse the relationships between butterflies and indicators of land cover and land-use intensity, we applied generalised linear mixed effect models. We found a negative relationship between butterfly species richness and the livestock density of domestic herbivores. Further, the ratio of butterfly generalist to specialist species shifted towards generalists and the size of butterflies increased with higher herbivore livestock density, indicating a shift in communities towards mobile habitat generalists. Our results are in accordance with previous studies carried out across smaller geographic extents, highlighting the importance of low herbivore livestock densities to halt the loss of pollinating insects and safeguard biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. We here demonstrate that indicators based on livestock distribution data at the municipality scale can provide insights into processes and spatial diversity patterns of butterflies at the national level. Further, we highlight potentials and limitations of using agricultural census data to quantify and assess effects of land cover and land-use intensity on butterflies, and make recommendations for further research needs.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23000080ConservationFarmland biodiversityGrazingInsect declineLivestock farmingManagement |
| spellingShingle | Toni Kasiske Jens Dauber Alexander Harpke Sebastian Klimek Elisabeth Kühn Josef Settele Martin Musche Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide study Ecological Indicators Conservation Farmland biodiversity Grazing Insect decline Livestock farming Management |
| title | Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide study |
| title_full | Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide study |
| title_fullStr | Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide study |
| title_short | Livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies: A nationwide study |
| title_sort | livestock density affects species richness and community composition of butterflies a nationwide study |
| topic | Conservation Farmland biodiversity Grazing Insect decline Livestock farming Management |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23000080 |
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