Report alerts to habitat degradation due to agricultural intensification, abandonment of traditional soil use and massive use of phytosanitary products
The number of meadow butterflies, linked to pastures in Europe, has been a major decline in the last three decades, decreasing by about 50%, according to monitoring data from 22 European countries collected between 1991 and 2023.
it was specified that the butterflies of prairie act as seminarial habitats, such as pastures, forests and areas of agroforestry mosaic.
Experts warned that These habitats are disappearing or degrading by various causes, such as agricultural intensification, abandonment of traditional soil use and massive use of phytosanitary products.
Among the 17 common species analyzed in the report, more than half have significantly negative trends, such as Erebia Medusa or Melitaea cinxia.
Only a few, usually more tolerant of landscape changes, such as Polyommatus icarusshow a stable or positive evolution.
Habitat Restoration Urgency
Although attempted stabilization attempts have been recorded in some countries, the report points out that falls affect both intensive agricultural zones and protected areas, which evidences The urgency of applying habitat restoration measures, ecological connectivity and support for agroecological practices.
This indicator is aligned with the objectives of the new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted by the United Nations, and represents a key tool to monitor the state of conservation of European ecosystems.
