Excess Nitrogen Puts Butterflies at Risk
Published:21 Jun.2021 Source:University of Basel
Nitrogen from agriculture, vehicle emissions and industry is endangering butterflies in Switzerland. The element is deposited in the soil via the air and has an impact on vegetation -- to the detriment of the butterflies, as researchers at the University of Basel have discovered.
More than half of butterfly species in Switzerland are considered to be at risk or potentially at risk. Usually, the search for causes focuses on intensive agriculture, pesticide use and climate change. A research team led by Professor Valentin Amrhein from the University of Basel, however, has been investigating another factor -- the depositing of nitrogen from agriculture and exhaust fumes from industry and traffic in soils via the air. In the journal Conservation Biology, the research team reports a connection between this unintentional fertilization and the low diversity of butterflies in Switzerland.