Sod translocation to restore habitats of the myrmecophilous butterfly Phengaris (Maculinea) teleius on former agricultural fields

In Europe, 50-70% of former natural grassland area has been destroyed
during the past 30 years due to land use changes, losses are expected to
increase in the future. Restoration is thought to reverse this situation
by creating suitable abiotic conditions. In this paper, we investigate the
effects of sod translocation with specific vegetation to facilitate the
restoration of a former intensive agricultural field into a wet meadow.
First, starting conditions were optimized including modification of the
local hydrology, removal of the fertilized topsoil, application of liming,
and translocation of fresh clippings as a seed source. The second part
aimed at restoring the habitat for the butterfly species Phengaris
(Maculinea) teleius, one of the species that was especially affected by
the loss of wet meadows. This species engages in a complex myrmecophilous
relationship with one host plant, Sanguisorba officinalis, and one
obligate host ant, Myrmica scabrinodis. We used sod translocation to
create islands of habitat to promote host plant and host ant colonization.
After four years following the restoration, we observed that plants spread
from the transplanted sods to the surroundings. The vegetation composition
and structure of the transplanted sods attracted colonization of Myrmica
ants into the restored areas. Following the increase in vegetation cover
and height, Myrmica ant colonies further spread into the restored areas.
Therefore, sod translocations can be considered an effective restoration
method following topsoil removal in the process of restoring wet meadows
to provide a starting point for ant colonization and plant dispersion.
With these findings, this paper contributes to the evidence-based
restoration of wet meadows on former agricultural fields, including
complex interactions between invertebrates and their required ecological
relationships.