Papallones

The third report of the mBMS, Barcelona’s Metropolitan Butterfly Monitoring Scheme, contains some unexpected findings: the beaches in Barcelona’s metropolitan area are not only inhabited by butterflies, but by butterfly communities unlike those found in the local parks. This means that the beaches act as reserves for certain species of butterflies. Some species found in only relatively small numbers in parks are more abundant at beaches, making such seaside environments especially important for biodiversity conservation in the metropolitan area.

Two studies led by Jofre Carnicer, CREAF researcher and professor at the University of Barcelona-IRBIO, show that natural areas that maintain microclimates are more resilient to climate change and biodiversity loss. Both studies conclude that microclimates (areas of natural space with different temperature, shade or humidity) become climatic refuges when there are extreme conditions, and that they should be studied in detail to assess the real impacts of global warming on nature.

The months of lockdown, when less maintenance work was carried out in parks, coupled with one of the wettest springs in recent years, has seen city butterfly populations flourish in Barcelona. Thanks to Barcelona Citizen Observatory for Urban Butterflies lead by CREAF, some 28% more butterfly species were recorded in the city between May and June this year, with 74% more individuals than for the same period last year.