En omologica omanica 29: 36-42, 2025 ISSN 2601-7105 online / doi: 10.24193/en omol om.29.25
The ole o sh ubs in main aining bu e ly biodi e si y in g asslands
C is ina Cos ache, Fla iu Bodea, Ioan Tăușan & László Rákosy
Summa y: Hedge ows a e an essen ial componen o he ag icul u al and g assland landscapes o many a ms and semi-na u al
g asslands a ound he wo ld, and hei managemen plays an impo an ole in enhancing habi a biodi e si y. In his a icle, we
show how sh ub- emo al managemen p ac ices a ec bu e ly and plan communi ies in a small egion o T ansyl ania, Romania.
We compa ed ac oss he 15 si es he abundance and di e si y o bu e ly species in ou di e en sh ub managed plo s and ound
o each ype o managemen indica o species, such as Cupido a giades in si es whe e sh ubs we e cu one yea p io o ou i s
yea sampling, An hoca is ca damines, Meli aea phoebe, Glaucopsyche alexis and Thymelicus syl es is, Thymelicus lineola whe e
sh ubs we e emo ed h ee yea s p io o ou i s yea sampling and Colias al aca iensis whe e sh ubs we e emo ed mo e han 3
yea s p io o ou i s yea sampling.
Key wo ds:
sh ubs, bu e lies, g asslands, managemen , biodi e si y, Romania
.
In oduc ion
Sh ubs a e impo an s uc u es in g asslands
and ag icul u al landscapes a ound he wo ld,
p o iding ecological connec i i y, lo al di e si y ha
suppo s insec popula ions (Sa diñas e al. 2016,
M’Gonigle e al. 2015) imp o ing pollina ion and
c op p oduc i i y
(Miña o and P ida 2013, Alison
e al. 2021) and habi a o a ious species o insec s,
bi ds and small mammals (Finch e al. 2020, Ga a
e al. 2017, Haenke e al. 2014, Kaláb e al. 2020,
Polla d and Holland 2006).
The in ensi ica ion o ag icul u e has changed
he u al landscape and is one o he mos impo an
ac o s leading o biodi e si y decline h ough
excessi e cu ing o sh ubs, leading o a dec ease in
e uges and eeding spo s o Lepidop e a species
(Klaus e al. 2015, F oide aux e al. 2019).
E en hough i is ecommended in he ag i-
en i onmen wo k package ha a me s should main ain
5-15% o sh ubs a e hedge ow managemen o
p ese e insec di e si y, his is s ill no well unde s ood
by some a me s and is no being p ope ly implemen ed,
esul ing in unin ended nega i e consequences such as
declines in biodi e si y, soil e osion, and he deg ada ion
o landscape ea u es (C emene e al. 2005, Rákosy
2011, S aley e al. 2012).
In his s udy, we aim o show o measu e he di e si y
o lowe ing plan s and bu e lies and bu e ly indica o
species whe e hedge ow conse a ion measu es such
as sh ub emo ing ha e been implemen ed in 15 si es
nea Cluj-Napoca, T ansyl ania.
Ma e ial and me hods
We su eyed bu e ly communi ies in ea ly
summe and la e summe - in May and Augus in 2022
and 2023 ac oss 15 si es (1 ese e), in he su oundings
o Cluj-Napoca, T ansyl ania ( ig. 1). We ensu ed
ha day ime sampling is andomized ac oss si es.
T ansec su eys we e conduc ed using bu e ly ne s,
eco ding all bu e lies obse ed. Su eys occu ed
be ween 10:00 and 17:00 unde op imal (>15°C,
wind <12 km/h, low cloud co e ) condi ions, and
only on d y days. The sampling design was chosen
as ou linea 50 m long bel ansec s o 1.5 m wid h
(7 minu es 30 seconds sampling ime pe ansec )
posi ioned pa allel o he ield edge a app oxima ely
1 m, 10 m, 20 m and 30 m om he ield edge, co e ing
a o al a ea o 300 m2. We eco ded lowe ing ascula
plan di e si y using 10 quad a s o 50x50 cm (0.25
m2)
pe si e. Plan di e si y was su eyed on he same
day as he bu e ly ansec s. To es ima e lowe
co e in sh ubby ege a ion, hedge ows, we used he
same me hodology as desc ibed abo e o es ima e
he baceous ege a ion. We classi ied hedge ows
acco ding o he imming managemen ype in o ou
g oups: 1YC-sh ubs ha we e cu one yea p io o
i s yea sampling; 2YC- sh ubs cu wo yea s p io
o i s yea sampling; 3YC-sh ubs emo ed h ee
yea s p io o i s yea sampling; OYC-sh ubs ha
we e emo ed mo e han 3 yea s p io o ou i s yea
sampling and con ol whe e hedge ows we e ne e
immed.
37
Fig.1. Map o he 16 s udy si es ( ed do s) nea Cluj-Napoca.
(Con ol, 1YC, 2YC, 3YC, OYC), we did he K uskal-
Wallis ank sum es as a non-pa ame ic al e na i e o
ANOVA. Whe e signi ican di e ences we e de ec ed,
Dunn’s pos hoc es wi h Bon e oni co ec ion
was used o pe o m pai wise compa isons be ween
ea men s. Rela ionships be ween bu e ly and plan
communi ies we e assessed using Spea man’s ank
co ela ion coe icien , sui able o non-pa ame ic
S a is ical Analysis
We used R so wa e (R Co e Team) o all s a is ical
analyses. We did he no mali y and homogenei y
es s (Shapi o-Wilk and Le ene es s) o assess da a
no mali y o bu e ly and plan communi ies. To
es di e ences in bu e ly and plan communi y
composi ion ac oss hedge ows managemen ypes
38
da a. A mul ile el pa e n analysis using he IndVal.g
unc ion was employed o iden i y species signi ican ly
associa ed wi h speci ic g assland managemen
egimes. A signi icance le el o α = 0.05 was applied.
To obse e he di e ences in communi y composi ion
among he a ious si es unde di e en managemen
ypes, we used Be a di e si y analysis. We applied he
K uskal-Wallis es o assess signi ican di e ences in
species equency and ecological ca ego y abundance
ac oss he ou managemen ea men s.
Resul s
The analysis o equency ca ego ies e ealed no
s a is ically signi ican di e ences (K uskal-Wallis
es , p = 0.37) in he occu ence o common bu e ly
species ac oss di e en g assland managemen
egimes. Howe e , a highe equency o common
species was obse ed in he con ol plo s, ollowed by
1YC and 2YC plo s (Fig. 3A).
A simila pa e n was iden i ied o a e species
(Fig 3B). Al hough he highes p opo ions o a e
species we e eco ded in 2YC and OYC si es,
ollowed by 1YC and con ol plo s, he di e ences
A
Fig. 2. A) Con ol plo – sh ub bel ; B) sh ubs in a ansec plo .
B
Fig. 3. P opo ion o common species A) and a e species B) in di e en sh ub managed plo s using he K uskal-Wallis es , p=0.37
AB
Fig. 4.
P opo ion o bu e ly species ai s abundance
by managemen ype (gene alis – g een ba s, gene alis /
specialis – o ange ba s, specialis – g ey ba s)
39
Fig. 5.
Dis ibu ion o gene alis bu e ly species abundance by sh ub emo al managemen ype
ound in 2YC si es.
The Dunn pos -hoc es indica ed signi ican
di e ences be ween 2YC and con ol si es (p = 0.05),
sugges ing ha bo h ypes o managemen suppo high
abundances o gene alis bu e ly species (Fig. 5).
The Dunn pos -hoc es showed signi ican
di e ences be ween 2YC and con ol plo s,
co esponding o he a eas wi h he highes species
abundances (Fig. 6). Thus, he 2YC managemen
egime suppo s no only gene alis bu also specialis
bu e ly species in ela i ely high numbe s.
Bo h bu e ly and plan communi ies ha e mo e
species in he si es whe e sh ubs we e emo ed p io
o ou s udy han he con ol plo s (Fig. 7 A, B).
ac oss managemen ypes we e no s a is ically
signi ican (K uskal-Wallis es , p = 0.37).
When examining he dis ibu ion o ecological
ca ego ies, gene alis species we e he mos p e alen ,
ollowed by specialis species and las we e hose
wi h mixed ai s (gene alis /specialis ).
Howe e , when hese ca ego ies we e analysed
sepa a ely, dis inc pa e ns eme ged. Fo gene alis
bu e ly species, s a is ically signi ican di e ences
we e ound ac oss managemen egimes (K uskal-
Wallis es , p < 0.05), wi h highe abundances
eco ded in bo h 2YC and con ol plo s. Fo gene alis /
specialis species, he highes abundance was ound
in 3YC si es. While he mos specialis species we e
Fig. 6.
Dis ibu ion o specialis bu e ly species numbe by sh ub emo al managemen ype
40
ca damines, Meli aea phoebe, Glaucopsyche alexis
and Thymelicus syl es is, Thymelicus lineola o
3YC plo s and Colias al aca iensis o OYC plo s.
The indica o species analysis de ec ed 15
species associa ed o speci ic sh ub ea men s,
such as Cupido a giades o 1YC plo s, An hoca is
Fig. 7 A) Bu e ly species ichness and B) plan species ichness by managemen ype
A
B
41
(SHOWCASing syne gies be ween ag icul u e, biodi e si y
and ecosys em se ices o help a me s capi alizing on
na i e biodi e si y, h ps://showcase-p ojec .eu/). This
a icle e lec s only he iews o he au ho s. The unding
sou ce had no ole in he comple ion o he s udy o he
c ea ion o he a icle and is no esponsible o any use ha
may be made o he in o ma ion his a icle con ains.
We would like o hank And ei C ișan o his help wi h
GIS mapping.
Re e ences
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Discussions
Hedge ows suppo insec di e si y by o e ing
impo an mic ohabi a s (Volpa o e al. 2019) and
inc ease pollina o popula ions by ensu ing consis en
nec a and pollen a ailabili y h oughou he season
(Mo andin and K emen 2013). They a e ecological
co ido s ha connec agmen ed habi a s, suppo ing
insec mo emen and gene low (Dainese e al. 2016)
in in ensi ely a med a eas (Ri e s‐Moo e e al.
2020).
In ou s udy, he in e en ions p ima ily in ol ed
sh ub emo al, which was conduc ed ei he by hand
o using small machine y wi h a maximum weigh
o 450 kg, including double-cu ing equipmen and
mulche s. These in e en ions we e ca ied ou one o
h ee yea s p io o he p esen s udy. The s udied si es
we e owned by a me s and in p oximi y o hei c op
ields o wild lowe ields. The hedge ows inc ease
insec biodi e si y by c ea ing eco onal zones ha
suppo a a ie y o species due o hei s uc u al and
lo al di e si y (Coul ha d e al. 2016), impo an
o species ha ely on bo h hedge ow and ield o
di e en li e cycle s ages (Pe e e al. 2025).
The s udied si es, each managed unde di e en
egimes, hos dis inc bu e ly and plan communi ies.
These communi ies a e no me ely iche o poo e
e sions o a single species pool bu a he consis o
en i ely di e en species assemblages. Consequen ly,
a he han expe iencing a g adual gain o loss o
species ac oss si es, he e is a comple e u no e in
species composi ion. This sugges s ha he obse ed
di e ences a e no solely due o ela i e abundance
bu e lec undamen ally di e en combina ions
o species shaped by speci ic en i onmen al and
managemen - ela ed ac o s.
Wi h no s a is ical di e ence, species equency
pa e ns o common species we e mo e in Con ol
and 1YC plo s han 2YC and OYC plo s and a e
species we e sligh ly high in 2YC and OYC plo s,
as F oide aux e al. (2019) epo ed ha less
equen hedge ow imming inc eases popula ions
o dis u bance-sensi i e insec s. Ecological ca ego y
analysis showed ha specialis s, gene alis and
gene alis /specialis s all signi ican ly a ied among
ea men s, wi h he highes abundances ound in
2YC and Con ol, which we e pa icula ly highe
han 3YC, highligh ing he ecological il e ing e ec
o he di e en emo al managemen ea men s
(Kimbe ley e al. 2020). Thus, he ag i-en i onmen al
schemes aiming a p ese ing bu e ly di e si y
should p omo e landscape and sh ubs managemen
he e ogenei y and o e incen i es o conse e
g asslands and ag icul u al lands wi h sh ubs.
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Pe e F., Bleume R., Ch is ophe sen C., Ma e n S.
Recei ed: 15.05.2025
Accep ed: 15.06.2025
Published online: 30.09.2025
A icle numbe : ER29202525
doi: 10.24193/en omol om.29.25
C is ina Cos ache
Doc o al School o In eg a i e Biology,
Facul y o Biology and Geology,
Babeș-Bolyai Uni e si y, S . Republicii 44,
400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
Ioan Tăușan
Depa men o En i onmen al Science,
Physics, Physical Educa ion and Spo s,
Facul y o Sciences, Lucian Blaga Uni e si y,
S . Doc o Ion Rațiu 5-7, 50012 Sibiu, Romania
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
László Rákosy
Depa men o Taxonomy and Ecology,
Facul y o Biology and Geology,
Babeș-Bolyai Uni e si y,
Clinicilo 5-7, Cluj-Napoca, Romania;
Fo es y Facul y, “Ș e an cel Ma e” Uni e si y,
Uni e si ății 13, Sucea a, Romania.
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]o
Fla iu Bodea
Doc o al School o In eg a i e Biology,
Facul y o Biology and Geology,
Babeș-Bolyai Uni e si y, S . Republicii 44,
400015 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]o
