[PCA] Fw: Flowers, grazing and insects...

[Patricia_DeAngelis at fws.gov]

Alexandra Scohier, Annie Ouin, Anne Farruggia and Bertrand Dumont
Journal of Insect Conservation 
2012, DOI: 10.1007/s10841-012-9509-9Online First? 

from abstract: "Here, we investigated the benefits of temporarily 
excluding sheep from pastures on butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera and 
Zygaenidae) and bumblebee (Hymenoptera: Bombidae) communities in two 
semi-natural grasslands differing in soil fertility and surrounding 
landscapes. We compared the impact of continuous grazing against 
rotational grazing (RG) at the same stocking rate but in which a subplot 
was excluded from the rotation during the main flowering period. We 
predicted that the diversity of flower-visiting insect community would be 
improved by RG due to the preservation of flower-rich patches and the 
maintenance of sward heterogeneity. Benefits of RG management were mainly 
evidenced on bumblebee density and species richness, with some additional 
effects on local density of butterflies during the subplot-exclusion 
period. Temporarily excluding sheep from pastures during peak flowering 
could thus offer an opportunity to preserve the diversity of 
flower-visiting insects, in spite of weaker benefits than could have been 
expected from previous surveys with cattle."

Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/d228j53v5nm35806/

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