A new report on trends of grassland butterflies across Europe shows numbers declined by over a third in just a decade.
The European Grassland Butterfly Indicator, led by the Butterfly Conservation Europe and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH), is based on an aggregate of abundance trends of 17 common species. It shows that numbers of butterflies in this habitat declined by 36 per cent in the last decade after being relatively stable for the previous 20 years.
The research team of almost 70 scientists from institutes across Europe say the main factor behind the declines is agricultural intensification. This has involved either the conversion of grasslands to arable fields or the heavy use of fertilisers and herbicides which reduce the wildflowers on which butterflies breed. Nitrogen pollution from agriculture and car exhausts is also a growing factor as is climate change, which has a negative impact on some species.
Read more at: UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology
Numbers of the Adonis Blue have declined significantly across Europe. (Photo Credit: Heather Harris)