The effect of different grazing managements on butterfly abundance, diversity and composition at a calcareous upland site

1. Butterfly populations have experienced substantial declines in recent decades due to land-use change, agricultural intensification and climate change. In the UK uplands, the impact of livestock grazing on butterfly populations has not been well documented. 2. In this study we used long-term monitoring from the Ingleborough National Nature Reserve in the English uplands to examine the impact of sheep grazing, cattle grazing and ungrazed management on butterfly abundance and species diversity across an upland calcareous site. 3. Lightly cattle-grazed sites were found to have 4.9 times the abundance of butterflies compared to sites lightly grazed by sheep. There were 3.6 times as many butterflies on ungrazed sites compared to sheep-grazed sites. The species richness of butterflies was also significantly higher on cattle-grazed and ungrazed sites compared to sheep-grazed sites. 4. Our study provides evidence of the conservation benefits of low-intensity cattle grazing for butterfly abundance and diversity on calcareous grasslands in the UK uplands. 5. Practical implication. For effective butterfly conservation, a shift from sheep grazing to light cattle grazing or stock exclusion in upland calcareous landscapes should be considered.