Butterfly diversity in Swiss grasslands: respective impacts of low-input management, landscape features and region

Abstract

In order to enhance agro-biodiversity, Swiss farmers have to convert 7% of the arable land into low-input habitats, namely ecological compensation areas (ECA). This agri-environmental programme is of high scientific interest as it permits to assess and quantify the effects of farming practices at the local and landscape scales. This study aimed at testing the effects of low-input management of grassland on butterfly diversity at the local and the landscape scale in three Swiss farming regions. Low input grasslands did not have a higher butterfly diversity than intensive grasslands, despite a higher species richness in one year. However, butterfly assemblages varied according to the landscape pattern, namely the amount of low-input habitats, intensive grasslands, crops and forest in the surrounding landscape, and to the regional localisation. Regional differences can be explained by the type and intensity of agricultural production and by landscape features at the regional scale. Recommendations for the further development and regionalization of the Swiss ECA scheme are derived