Butterfly extinction in Salzburg
The intensification of agriculture and landscape changes have caused a decline in butterfly populations in the province of Salzburg since 1920.
In a recent study, Jan Christian Habel from the Department of Environment and Biodiversity at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (PLUS) identified two major extinction waves of butterflies at the beginning and middle of the last century.
However, there was also good news: Conservation measures from the mid-1990s, such as the protection of wetlands, saved potentially endangered species from extinction. The species measures, which are specialized in wetlands, have not decreased, but have remained at a low level since then, as the University of Salzburg informed in a broadcast on Tuesday. Even the endangered species on the Red List are expressly not decreasing, was quoted from the study, which was written in cooperation with the Haus der Natur in Salzburg, the Senckenberg German Entomological Institute and the Copernicus University in Poland and is now in the journal ” Science of the Total Environment” was published.
This work is based on data and records from the Haus der Natur Salzburg dating back to 1920. With around 60,000 observation points, 168 species of butterflies and rams were presented for the entire period for the state of Salzburg. The scientists note that the numbers of numerous species were already declining at the beginning of the last century.
“This first wave of species extinction primarily affects butterflies that live in sensitive ecosystems such as moors,” explained Habel. These habitats were already being destroyed in the period of the most intensive population growth in Europe at the end of the 19th century due to the strong expansion of agricultural and forestry use. “In this context, for example, many moors and wet meadows were drained, but former dry wasteland was also transferred to management. Species specialized in such ecosystems have been in decline since then.”
The second wave began in the middle of the last century. Here, above all, the spicy quality of habitats follows a further drastic decline in butterfly diversity. “Especially for the 1960s, breaks in the trend lines were increasingly detected, for example for butterflies in the species-rich, lean meadows of the lowlands. The industrialization of agriculture that was beginning at this point in time seems to be responsible here, with intensive use of artificial pesticides and artificial plant products.” , explains co-author Thomas Schmitt from the Senckenberg German Entomological Institute.
As a result, many poor, flowery valley meadows with their high biodiversity disappeared. This trend has remained negative until today, it said. Since 1980, the populations of montane and alpine butterfly species have also been affected by these negative trends. According to the study, at this point in time the destruction of natural and semi-natural landscapes also seemed to have reached the mountainous regions.
“But not everything is negative,” explained Habel and Schmitt. The protective measures for wetlands and the maintenance measures carried out from the mid-1990s were not in vain. However, the species on the early warning list, including those where there is a risk of endangerment, would still decrease, so die scientists. “There is still a lot to be done to preserve and promote the original biodiversity of our cultural landscapes.”