Floral enhancement of arable field margins increases moth abundance and diversity

Blumgart, Dan; Botham, Marc S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5276-1405; Menéndez, Rosa; Bell, James R.. 2023 Floral enhancement of arable field margins increases moth abundance and diversity. Journal of Insect Conservation, 27 (3). 455-465. 10.1007/s10841-023-00469-9

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Abstract/Summary

Moth populations have declined across large parts of north-western Europe since the mid-20th century due, in part, to agricultural intensification. Agri-environment schemes (AES) are widely implemented across Europe to protect biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Grass field margins enriched with wildflowers typically out-perform grass-only margins in terms of increasing insect abundance and diversity. However, the effect of wildflower enrichment on moths remains largely unstudied. Here, the relative importance of larval hostplants and nectar resources for adult moths within AES field margins are investigated. Two treatments and a control were compared: (i) a plain grass mix, the control, (ii) a grass mix enriched with only moth-pollinated flowers, and (iii) a grass mix enriched with 13 wildflower species. Abundance, species richness and Shannon diversity were up to 1.4, 1.8 and 3.5 times higher, respectively, in the wildflower treatment compared to plain grass. The difference in diversity between treatments became greater in the second year. There was no difference in total abundance, richness or diversity between the plain grass treatment and grass enriched with moth-pollinated flowers. The increase in abundance and diversity in the wildflower treatment was due primarily to the provision of larval hostplants, with nectar provision playing a smaller role. The relative abundance of species whose larval hostplants included sown wildflowers increased in the second year, suggesting colonisation of the new habitat.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1007/s10841-023-00469-9
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Biodiversity (Science Area 2017-)
ISSN:	1366-638X
Additional Information. Not used in RCUK Gateway to Research.:	Open Access paper - full text available via Official URL link.
Additional Keywords:	agri-environment scheme, agro-ecology, field margins, floral resources, insect conservation, moth conservation, nectar resources
NORA Subject Terms:	Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	04 Aug 2023 15:44 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/535531

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