Grassland butterfly communities of the Western Siberian forest steppe in the light of post-Soviet land abandonment

Land-use change and homogenization of the landscape are severe threats to butterfly diversity. The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 led to land abandonment on very large scales. This study aims at assessing the impact of the ongoing abandonment of traditionally managed grasslands and subsequent vegetation succession on butterflies in Western Siberia, a species-rich area with butterfly communities similar to those of Central and Eastern...