Voimajohtoaukeiden raivauksen merkitys soiden päiväperhosille ja kasvillisuudelle

The role of power line rights-of-way as an alternative habitat for declined mire butterflies

Habitat loss is one of the greatest threats for biodiversity. In Finland, two thirds of natural mires have been drained for silviculture, which transforms open wetlands into dense forests. However, vegetation management of power line rights-of-way (ROW) maintain the drained mires as open areas. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the power line ROW vegetation management on butterfly abundance, species richness and community structure by comparing the managed power line ROWs to unmanaged drained control sites and to natural mires. The species richness or abundance of mire butterflies did not differ between the power line ROWs and natural mires. In contrast, both species rich…

Optimal timing of power line rights-of-ways management for the conservation of butterflies

Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation are the main threats to biodiversity. Human activities also create new habitat types that might fulfil ecological requirements for a variety of species. This study investigates whether the vegetation clearing (=shrub and tree cutting) on drained mire patches on power line rights-of-ways (ROWs) keep plant communities in an early successional stage and thus provide habitats for mire specialist and non-mire butterflies. It was further studied what would be the optimal clearing interval in terms of butterfly species richness and abundance. The results show that tree height, especially the height of birch, increases linearly over the 7-year period fol…