Journal
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
Volume 144, Issue 1, Pages 490-499Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2010.10.002
Keywords
Butterflies; Conservation management; Endangered species; Nature reserves; Urban ecology; Vascular plants
Funding
- Czech Ministry of Education [0021620828, LC06073]
- Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic [AV0Z60050516, B6007306]
- Grant Agency of the Czech Republic [GA CR 206/09/0563, P505/10/2467]
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Factors shaping overall species richness and representation of endangered species of vascular flora and butterflies were determined in 48 nature reserves in Prague, Czech Republic. Total species richness of both groups, and the presence of endangered butterflies, reflect the present status of habitats, while that of endangered plants reflects habitat composition at the time of reserve establishment. Reserve area has a much stronger effect on the species richness of sessile plants than mobile butterflies which, especially endangered species, respond more positively to heterogeneity than to area. Both species richness and endangered species peak in reserves half covered with forest, likely because they harbor species of both woodland and non-woodland habitats, and edge specialists. Solely relying on area and disregarding habitat quality, or a failure to conserve small but high quality sites, may be counterproductive for conserving endangered plant and butterfly species. To conserve diversity of plants and butterflies current management practices, often aimed at maintaining large blocks of pre-selected plant communities, should change to include maintenance of fallows, edges and transient zones. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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