Comparison of butterfly communities among land-use types and topographic conditions in the agricultural landscape of Hokkaido, northern Japan

Abstract

Butterflies are declining globally, mainly due to expansion and abandonment of agricultural land. Quantifying the relative importance of agricultural land-use types for butterflies is essential to conservation planning in agricultural landscapes, where land-use changes frequently occur. Here, we surveyed species richness, abundance, and composition in natural lands (wetland and forest), agricultural land, and abandoned agricultural land in two topographic settings (hillslope and lowland) in Hokkaido, northern Japan. The species richness and abundance of open-land butterflies tended to be the highest in agricultural lands in both topographic settings. Although those of communities were lowest in natural lands, such areas had unique species compositions. Topography can be an important factor explaining the variation in species richness and abundance among abandoned agricultural lands. In hillslope areas, abundance of open-land butterflies was lower in abandoned agricultural lands than in active ones. In lowland areas, however, species richness and abundance of abandoned agricultural lands were comparable to those of active ones in both communities and functional groups. Our results suggest that both topography and land-use type have significant effects on butterfly community composition in agricultural landscapes.