POSTER: Preserving mobile insects in semi-natural grasslands – Minding the Matrix

Activity: Talk or presentationPresentation

Description

To mitigate loss of farmland biodiversity, including insect pollinators, much effort has been spent on preserving and managing semi-natural grasslands. However, our ability to reverse current negative trends using only this approach is limited. In addition, semi-natural grasslands are today mostly managed by grazing instead of mowing, resulting in a lack of critical floral resources for many insects particularly during the summer. Hence, floral resources in the surrounding landscapes may be critically important for the persistence of flower-dependent insects in grasslands. We take an alternative approach and
investigate if proper management of the surrounding landscape can enhance the conservation value of grasslands for flower-visiting mobile insects. In Sweden, almost half of the agricultural land is used for ley production, which opens for a potential complementary/supplementary food resource in the form of flowering clover and alfalfa, common ley legumes. Using a variety of empirical approaches, we focus on consequences of the availability and management of leys that produce nectar and pollen resources from blooming ley legumes. Presenting the first preliminary results from field data, we assess whether legume rich leys could potentially increase the conservation value of semi-natural grasslands for
increased benefits to biodiversity.
Period2022 May 16
Event titleSwedish Climate Symposium 2022
Event typeConference
LocationNorrköping, SwedenShow on map