THREATENED BUTTERFLY SPECIES

Wood pasture systems host a variety of threatened species, including species protected by the European and Greek legislation (Figure 1). A typical example is the Marsh Fritillary, Euphydryas aurinia, a species protected by the Habitats Directive 92/43/EC (Annex II), due to the severe decline of its populations in the past decades. It is predominantly found in wet meadows, calcareous grasslands and woodland clearings rich in herbs and flowers, and its survival and conservation largely depend on suitable grazing (Ellis et al. 2012). Similarly, the protected Apollo (92/43/EC, Annex IV), Parnassius apollo, became extinct in several regions of central Europe, as its habitats have been modified to cropland and artificial land or wooded and forested areas due to the abandonment of traditional livestock farming and changes in woodland management (Nakonieczny et al. 2007).