Butterfly biodiversity increases with prairie strips and conservation management in row crop agriculture

Kemmerling, Lindsey R.; McCarthy, Annabelle C.; Brown, Cameron S.; Haddad, Nick M.

doi:10.1111/icad.12675

Butterfly biodiversity increases with prairie strips and conservation management in row crop agriculture

Journal Article · Thu Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2023 · Insect Conservation and Diversity

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12675· OSTI ID:1994601

^[1]; McCarthy, Annabelle C. ^[2]; Brown, Cameron S. ^[3]; Haddad, Nick M. ^[4]

Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior University of Minnesota St. Paul Minnesota USA
Department of Integrative Biology Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA, W. K. Kellogg Biological Station Michigan State University Hickory Corners Michigan USA
Department of Research and Community Science Urban Ecology Center Milwaukee Wisconsin USA
Department of Integrative Biology Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA, W. K. Kellogg Biological Station Michigan State University Hickory Corners Michigan USA, Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Program Michigan State University East Lansing Michigan USA

Abstract

Butterfly abundances are declining globally, with meta‐analysis showing a rate of −2% per year. Agriculture contributes to butterfly decline through habitat loss and degradation. Prairie strips—strips of farmland actively restored to native perennial vegetation—are a conservation practice with the potential to mitigate biodiversity loss, but their impact on butterfly biodiversity is not known.

Working within a 30‐year‐old experiment that varied land use intensity, from natural areas to croplands (maize–soy–wheat rotation), we introduced prairie strips to less intensely managed crop treatments. Treatments included conservation land, biologically based (organic) row crops with prairie strips, reduced input row crops with prairie strips, no‐till row crops and conventional row crops. We measured butterfly abundance and richness: (1) within prairie strips and (2) across the gradient of land use intensity at the plot level.

Butterfly abundance was higher within prairie strips than in all other treatments. Across the land use intensity gradient at the plot level, the conservation land treatment had the highest abundance, treatments with prairie strips had intermediate levels and no‐till and conventional treatments had the lowest abundances. Also across entire plots, butterfly richness increased as land use intensity decreased. Treatments with prairie strips, which also had reduced land use intensity, had distinct butterfly communities as they harboured several butterfly species that were not found in other row crop treatments.

In addition to the known effects of prairie strips on ecosystem services including erosion control and increased water quality, prairie strips can increase biodiversity in multifunctional landscapes.

View Journal Article

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: NONE; SC0018409

OSTI ID:: 1994601

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1994602

Journal Information:: Insect Conservation and Diversity, Journal Name: Insect Conservation and Diversity Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 16; ISSN 1752-458X

Publisher:: Wiley-BlackwellCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: Country unknown/Code not available

Language:: English

References (47)

Twenty years of tallgrass prairie restoration in northern Illinois, USA Bach, Elizabeth M.; Kleiman, Bill P. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, Vol. 2, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12101	journal	October 2021
A review of the ecology of butterflies in British hedgerows Dover, J.; Sparks, T. Journal of Environmental Management, Vol. 60, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1006/jema.2000.0361	journal	September 2000
ggplot2 Wickham, Hadley Use R! https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-24277-4	book	January 2016
Anthropogenic sodium influences butterfly responses to nitrogen-enriched resources: implications for the nitrogen limitation hypothesis Shephard, Alexander M.; Knudsen, Kyle; Snell-Rood, Emilie C. Oecologia, Vol. 201, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-023-05366-1	journal	March 2023
The effects of long-term nitrogen loading on grassland insect communities Haddad, Nick M.; Haarstad, John; Tilman, David Oecologia, Vol. 124, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050026	journal	July 2000
A mobility index for Canadian butterfly species based on naturalists’ knowledge Burke, Ryan J.; Fitzsimmons, Jay M.; Kerr, Jeremy T. Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol. 20, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-011-0088-y	journal	June 2011
A case study of a conservation flagship species: the monarch butterfly Preston, Stephanie D.; Liao, Julia D.; Toombs, Theodore P. Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol. 30, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-021-02183-x	journal	May 2021
Sown wildflower strips offer promising long term results for butterfly conservation Kolkman, Alyssa; Dopagne, Claude; Piqueray, Julien Journal of Insect Conservation, Vol. 26, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-021-00347-2	journal	September 2021
Floral enhancement of arable field margins increases moth abundance and diversity Blumgart, Dan; Botham, Marc S.; Menéndez, Rosa Journal of Insect Conservation, Vol. 27, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-023-00469-9	journal	March 2023
Local and landscape effects on the butterfly community in fragmented Midwest USA prairie habitats Davis, Jessica D.; Debinski, Diane M.; Danielson, Brent J. Landscape Ecology, Vol. 22, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-007-9111-9	journal	May 2007
A method for assessing changes in the abundance of butterflies Pollard, E. Biological Conservation, Vol. 12, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(77)90065-9	journal	September 1977
Unexpected functional complementarity from non-bee pollinators enhances cotton yield Cusser, Sarah; Haddad, Nick M.; Jha, Shalene Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 314 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107415	journal	July 2021
Quantifying neonicotinoid insecticide residues in milkweed and other forbs sampled from prairie strips established in maize and soybean fields Hall, Maura J.; Zhang, Ge; O’Neal, Matthew E. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 325 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107723	journal	February 2022
Effectiveness of flowers strips on insect’s restoration in intensive grassland Hussain, Raja Imran; Walcher, Ronnie; Vogel, Nora Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Vol. 348 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108436	journal	June 2023
Evaluation of isolated and integrated prairie reconstructions as habitat for prairie butterflies Shepherd, Stephanie; Debinski, Diane M. Biological Conservation, Vol. 126, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2005.04.021	journal	November 2005
Butterfly richness and abundance in flower strips and field margins: the role of local habitat quality and landscape context Wix, Nana; Reich, Michael; Schaarschmidt, Frank Heliyon, Vol. 5, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01636	journal	May 2019
Precision conservation for a changing climate Basso, Bruno Nature Food, Vol. 2, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00283-z	journal	May 2021
Prairie strips improve biodiversity and the delivery of multiple ecosystem services from corn–soybean croplands Schulte, Lisa A.; Niemi, Jarad; Helmers, Matthew J. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 114, Issue 42 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1620229114	journal	October 2017
Insect decline in the Anthropocene: Death by a thousand cuts Wagner, David L.; Grames, Eliza M.; Forister, Matthew L. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 118, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023989118	journal	January 2021
Monitoring change in the abundance and distribution of insects using butterflies and other indicator groups Thomas, J. A. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Vol. 360, Issue 1454 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2004.1585	journal	February 2005
iNEXT: an R package for rarefaction and extrapolation of species diversity ( H ill numbers) Hsieh, T. C.; Ma, K. H.; Chao, Anne Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 7, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12613	journal	August 2016
Agricultural intensification drives butterfly decline Habel, Jan Christian; Ulrich, Werner; Biburger, Nina Insect Conservation and Diversity https://doi.org/10.1111/icad.12343	journal	February 2019
Local and landscape effects of organic farming on butterfly species richness and abundance Rundlöf, Maj; Bengtsson, Janne; Smith, Henrik G. Journal of Applied Ecology, Vol. 45, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01448.x	journal	November 2007
A Realistic Assessment of the Indicator Potential of Butterflies and Other Charismatic Taxonomic Groups Fleishman, Erica; Murphy, Dennis D. Conservation Biology, Vol. 23, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01246.x	journal	October 2009
Recovery of Native Plant Community Characteristics on a Chronosequence of Restored Prairies Seeded into Pastures in West-Central Iowa Carter, Daniel L.; Blair, John M. Restoration Ecology, Vol. 20, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2010.00760.x	journal	January 2011
Nitrogen enrichment and plant communities: Nitrogen enrichment and plant communities Cleland, Elsa E.; Harpole, W. Stanley Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Vol. 1195, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05458.x	journal	May 2010
Sown wildflower strips for insect conservation: a review: Wildflower strips for insect conservation Haaland, Christine; Naisbit, Russell E.; Bersier, Louis-FÉLix Insect Conservation and Diversity, Vol. 4, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2010.00098.x	journal	May 2010
Do We Practice What We Preach? Goal Setting for Ecological Restoration Hallett, Lauren M.; Diver, Sibyl; Eitzel, Melissa V. Restoration Ecology, Vol. 21, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12007	journal	February 2013
Dispersal and establishment filters influence the assembly of restored prairie plant communities: Prairie plant dispersal and establishment filters Grman, Emily; Bassett, Tyler; Zirbel, Chad R. Restoration Ecology, Vol. 23, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12271	journal	September 2015
Wild bee community change over a 26-year chronosequence of restored tallgrass prairie: Bee communities of restored tallgrass prairie Griffin, Sean R.; Bruninga-Socolar, Bethanne; Kerr, Morgan A. Restoration Ecology, Vol. 25, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12481	journal	January 2017
Defaunation in the Anthropocene Dirzo, R.; Young, H. S.; Galetti, M. Science, Vol. 345, Issue 6195 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1251817	journal	July 2014
Assessing nature's contributions to people Díaz, Sandra; Pascual, Unai; Stenseke, Marie Science, Vol. 359, Issue 6373 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aap8826	journal	January 2018
Landscapes that work for biodiversity and people Kremen, C.; Merenlender, A. M. Science, Vol. 362, Issue 6412 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau6020	journal	October 2018
Meta-analysis reveals declines in terrestrial but increases in freshwater insect abundances van Klink, Roel; Bowler, Diana E.; Gongalsky, Konstantin B. Science, Vol. 368, Issue 6489 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax9931	journal	April 2020
Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West Forister, M. L.; Halsch, C. A.; Nice, C. C. Science, Vol. 371, Issue 6533 https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe5585	journal	March 2021
Native Pollinators in Anthropogenic Habitats Winfree, Rachael; Bartomeus, Ignasi; Cariveau, Daniel P. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, Vol. 42, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-102710-145042	journal	December 2011
Plant Fertilization Interacts with Life History: Variation in Stoichiometry and Performance in Nettle-Feeding Butterflies Audusseau, Hélène; Kolb, Gundula; Janz, Niklas PLOS ONE, Vol. 10, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0124616	journal	May 2015
Butterfly abundance declines over 20 years of systematic monitoring in Ohio, USA Wepprich, Tyson; Adrion, Jeffrey R.; Ries, Leslie PLOS ONE, Vol. 14, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216270	journal	July 2019
Strips of prairie vegetation placed within row crops can sustain native bee communities Kordbacheh, Farnaz; Liebman, Matt; Harris, Mary PLOS ONE, Vol. 15, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240354	journal	October 2020
Fitting Linear Mixed-Effects Models Using lme4 Bates, Douglas; Mächler, Martin; Bolker, Ben Journal of Statistical Software, Vol. 67, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01	journal	January 2015
Community- and Ecosystem-Level Changes in a Species-Rich Tallgrass Prairie Restoration Camill, Philip; McKone, Mark J.; Sturges, Sean T. Ecological Applications, Vol. 14, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1890/03-5273	journal	December 2004
Maximizing arthropod-mediated ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes: the role of native plants Isaacs, Rufus; Tuell, Julianna; Fiedler, Anna Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 7, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1890/080035	journal	May 2009
Rarefaction and extrapolation with Hill numbers: a framework for sampling and estimation in species diversity studies Chao, Anne; Gotelli, Nicholas J.; Hsieh, T. C. Ecological Monographs, Vol. 84, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1890/13-0133.1	journal	February 2014
Butterflies and Plants: A Study in Coevolution Ehrlich, Paul R.; Raven, Peter H. Evolution, Vol. 18, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.2307/2406212	journal	December 1964
Prairie Strips and Lower Land Use Intensity Increase Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Kemmerling, Lindsey R.; Rutkoski, Corinn E.; Evans, Sarah E. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, Vol. 10 https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.833170	journal	May 2022
Insect Cultural Services: How Insects Have Changed Our Lives and How Can We Do Better for Them Duffus, Natalie E.; Christie, Craig R.; Morimoto, Juliano Insects, Vol. 12, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.3390/insects12050377	journal	April 2021
What Is the Future of Conservation? Doak, Daniel F.; Bakker, Victoria J.; Goldstein, Bruce Evan Protecting the Wild https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-551-9_4	book	January 2015

Similar Records

Prairie Strips and Lower Land Use Intensity Increase Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Journal Article · Tue May 10 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution · OSTI ID:1981082

kemmerl4/LTER_prairie_strip_2019-2020: Data for: Prairie strips and lower land use intensity increase biodiversity and ecosystem services

Dataset · Wed Apr 27 00:00:00 EDT 2022 · OSTI ID:2217656

Butterfly biodiversity increases with prairie strips and conservation management in row crop agriculture

Citation Formats

References (47)

Similar Records

Related Subjects