Abstract
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.
Highlights
European landscapes and their use by agriculture and forestry have been undergoing considerable changes in recent decades (Reidsma et al 2006)
Prior to any human land use, grasslands as well as open places within forests, i.e., the habitats preferred by a majority of European butterflies, used to be sustained by large herbivore grazing, which prevented forest growth (Konvicka et al 2005; Poyry et al 2005; Krauss et al 2005; Stefanescu et al 2009)
The co-existence of various herbivore species with varying feeding preferences and abundances led to strong spatial heterogeneity in herbal vegetation, while fluctuating grazer densities increased temporal dynamics of habitats (Morris 2000; Saarinen and Jantunen 2005; Ockinger et al 2006; Rosch et al 2013)
Summary
European landscapes and their use by agriculture and forestry have been undergoing considerable changes in recent decades (Reidsma et al 2006) These changes have typically led to the cessation of the traditional use of seminatural habitats, causing either the complete abandonment of land or the introduction of intensive agriculture and forestry (Balmer and Erhardt 2000; Young et al 2005). Both processes are considered prominent threats to biodiversity in Europe (Morris 2000; Benton et al 2003; Saarinen and Jantunen 2005; Young et al 2005). One of the main groups of organisms negatively affected by these processes are butterflies (Ockinger and Smith 2006; Wenzel et al 2006; K}orosi et al 2012)
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