82% of possible Lepidoptera species and 60% of interactions could be supported with 15 woody plants when keystone plants are intentionally included, whereas, 50 woody plant species were required to reach 80% of the Lepidoptera species and 55% of interactions when plants were chosen randomly (Fig. 3). For herbaceous plants, even a threefold increase in plant richness was unable to capture the diversity of Lepidoptera species and interactions supported by fewer keystone plants (Fig. 3). Thus, restoration actions that populate landscapes with native plants, but without members of keystone genera, are performing ineffectively and are unlikely to support similar diversity of local Lepidoptera species compared to landscapes that included keystone genera.
« Return to the thread "Should you be feeding the birds"
« Return to Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum
« Return to the Garden.org homepage
