Data for relaxation of management intensity promotes butterfly communities in mountain grasslands

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Our study investigated the effects of the relaxation of the management intensity of mountain grasslands on plant and butterfly communities. In 2019, 13 study sites were selected in the SW Swiss Alps, each including three meadows that had been intensively managed for at least the last 20 years. Adopting a randomised block design, two out of three meadows per study site were restored by shifting their mode of exploitation towards low-intensity (1/3 of the fertiliser dose applied beforehand) or extensive management (cessation of fertilisation), respectively, while the third continued to be managed intensively, serving as control. After four years (2023), plant species richness had increased by 9.3% in extensively-managed meadows. The butterfly abundance was more than twice greater (112%) and species richness 81% higher in extensively-managed meadows compared to controls. A higher butterfly abundance and species richness following management relaxation was mostly driven by a decrease in vegetation density and an increase in forb cover. These two datasets encompass vegetation and butterfly data used in this study. Vegetation composition was surveyed every two years from the start of the experiment (2019, 2021, 2023) in two permanent plots (2 m x 4 m) separated by 8 m and randomly placed in each meadow. Butterflies were recorded five times during the main flight period (May to September 2023) along fixed line transects (60 m - 120 m) in each meadow.

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