Changes in conservation value from grasslands to savannas to forests: How a temperate canopy cover gradient affects butterfly community composition.

ABSTRACT: Temperate savannas and grasslands are globally threatened. In the Midwest United States of America (USA), for example, oak savannas persist today at a small percentage of recent historic coverage. Therefore, restoration of habitats of low and intermediate canopy cover is a landscape conservation priority that often emphasizes returning tree density to a savanna-like target value. Understanding how animal species react to such changes in vegetation structure is important for assessing the value of these restoration plans. We examined how butterfly community attributes in northwest Indiana USA, including community composition, richness, and abundance responded to a grassland-to-forest gradient of canopy cover. Butterfly community composition under intermediate canopy cover differed significa

SUBMITTER: Grundel R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7304999 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature