Meadows—Endangered Homes

Species-rich meadows are beautiful places filled with colorful wildflowers, birds searching for food, and leaping rabbits. If you take a closer look, you will see a real hustle and bustle, and you will discover hundreds of small animals, called arthropods, that also live there. These arthropods include insects like beetles, bugs, and cicadas, which have six legs, and spiders with eight legs. Arthropods have many important roles: they act as pollinators as they fly from flower to flower, decomposers as they eat dead animals or plants, and pest controllers as they kill and eat other insects that multiply too quickly and cause damage to plants. Without these little helpers, we would have fewer flowers in a meadow and fewer tree fruits to eat, like apples and cherries. Arthropods are also important food sources for other animals, such as birds (Figure 1). Without arthropods, many plants and animals would struggle to survive. Healthy ecosystems depend on a balance of predators, parasites, prey, and resources. But it is the way humans use land that changes this delicate web of life.

Arthropods have become rare in many places. Scientists have found that about three quarters of arthropods have disappeared over the years because humans have changed the land [1]. The reasons for their shrinking numbers include building roads, turning wild areas into farmland, or cutting down forests. These changes make it hard for arthropods to survive [2]. Generally, a few very common species take over, while many other species are lost. Even though many insects can fly and spiders are good climbers, they might still disappear from a place if they cannot find what they need to survive. Farmland, especially fields, can feel like empty deserts for many arthropods—but the effect of farming goes beyond borders, as pesticides, fertilizers, and habitat loss can also affect the animals and plants in nearby landscapes and nature reserves. This is why we need to protect their habitats, so they can find food, shelter, and mates. Meadows are valuable homes for arthropods because every flower and stem of grass is a place to eat, rest, and grow. We humans also need meadows as places to rest and enjoy nature.

Thousands of years ago, wild animals like wisents, buffalos, and aurochs grazed natural grasslands. They shaped open, grassy landscapes by suppressing shrubs and trees and promoting grasses and herbs. Today, maintaining grassland habitats requires human management. Domestic animals, like cattle (descendants of the extinct aurochs), sheep, and horses graze on pastures. They all play a similar role by keeping grasslands open. More commonly, though, meadows are maintained by mowing them with machines, often to harvest hay. This regular clearing of the vegetation is essential to preserve grassland habitats. Without these efforts, grasslands would slowly turn into forests. The problem: forests host different kinds of animals, and those living in meadows would disappear. But mowing, particularly when done too often, can hurt arthropods, destroy their homes, and displace them [3].

How Different Mowing Techniques Affect Arthropods

The type of mower can impact meadow arthropods in different ways. Some mowers are safer for insects, while others can be more harmful (Figure 2) [4]. In the past, people mowed meadows by hand with a scythe (Figure 3A). This was hard work, and it took many hours to mow, turn, and harvest the dry grass, which was used as hay. Since it was not possible to mow everything at once, parts of the meadow were left unmown for a while, ranging from hours to several weeks. This helped preserve habitats for plants and animals, especially for non-mobile or less mobile ones, like arthropod offspring in their juvenile stages: eggs, larvae (like caterpillars, the larval stage of butterflies), and pupae. Nowadays, meadows are mown with large, heavy machines that can do the job quickly. These machines either have cutting blades, like bar mowers, or rotating blades, like disc mowers, drum mowers, or mulchers (Figures 3B–D). Up to 80% of grasshoppers can be killed or injured by mowing, depending on the technique [5].

Besides the scythe (Figure 3A), bar mowers are gentler on the plants and animals living in the meadow than other mowers because they work more slowly, and they simply cut the grass instead of chopping it up (Figure 3B). However, bar mowers are less commonly used in agriculture because they need a lot of maintenance, as their blades need frequent sharpening.

Rotating mowers are big machines and have a greater impact on the meadow than bar mowers. The blades of rotating mowers (Figure 3C) move much faster and some even create an air suction, which might feel like a tornado, that pulls arthropods into the mower. These mowers are very efficient, but they move so fast that arthropods do not have time to escape (Figure 2).

Mulchers (or flail mowers) are the most dangerous mowers for meadow arthropods, because they chop plants into tiny pieces and spread them over the meadow, giving arthropods little chance to survive (Figure 3D). In a previous study, we showed that the impact was particularly strong on true bugs and spiders [6]. Hand lawn mowers we use at home also chop up grass, but agricultural machines are much bigger, heavier, and faster. Their tires even compact the ground, which has a negative effect on plant roots and animals that live in the ground.

How To Protect Arthropods While Mowing

Mowing can change the number of arthropod individuals and species (their biodiversity) in a meadow. Without plants, their homes are destroyed, leaving them vulnerable and displaced without food, shelter, or breeding sites—not just right after mowing but also many days afterwards [6]. For example, arthropods that live on the ground, such as beetles and spiders, may be more likely to be eaten by birds after mowing. Other arthropods are dependent on just one plant species, which can disappear through mowing. For example, one species of mining bees relies on the plant species called field scabious for pollen. Or the dusky large blue butterfly relies on the flower heads of the great burnet for its caterpillars to feed on. Even though many arthropods need tall grasses and wildflowers for survival, some arthropods, like ants, can live in short-mown grass.

To help protect arthropods, some new mowers have insect-scare devices in front of the mowers, like metal bars or tarpaulins, that move plants before cutting. So, arthropods might be warned and respond by dropping to the ground or flying away. On top of that, it is necessary to set the height of the mower blade to at least 8 cm, preferably 10 cm or higher (lawns in parks are often mown at 3 cm). Leaving the grass longer helps some arthropods to survive. Also, limiting mowing to one or two times per year helps to minimize disturbance and allows plants and arthropods to recover. Furthermore, mowing before the first warm period can be harmful because arthropods may still be overwintering in the meadow. In the hot midsummer, mowing should be avoided so the meadow does not dry up and turn brown, leaving arthropods without cool, green spots to shelter and hide. And if there is any chance to let grazing mammals—cows, sheep, horses, and others—do the job instead of mowing machines, this can create wild grassland ecosystems with even more arthropod and plant species than in meadows.

As a good compromise between mowing and protecting meadow animals, some parts of the meadow should always be left unmown, switching these areas with each mowing cycle. This preserves habitats and provides safe places for arthropods, known as refuges. In fact, our literature review found that 70% of studies showed a positive impact of leaving unmown refuges for arthropods [7]. Moreover, different habitats should be preserved. For example, old plant stems are important for the life cycles of some arthropods. They can act as egg-laying sites and as food.

We Are All In This Together

Imagine if more people thought that wild meadows were more beautiful than regularly mown lawns. What if we did not mow them just because the colorful flowers were gone? And what if no one complained about unmown grass looking “untidy”? We can all help by making our gardens a home for arthropods. This means mowing less and only in a way that is safer for them. Allowing grazing in some areas and leaving safe spaces (refuges) for arthropods can also create more diverse habitats. This is crucial because many insects are already disappearing and need our help [1, 2]. Maybe you can talk to your family about leaving a part of your garden unmown as a refuge for insects, or ask a local park manager about ways they protect arthropods in your neighborhood. Politicians can also help farmers by supporting them financially to mow in ways that are safer for arthropods. This way, farmers can protect nature while caring for their land. Teaching others why arthropods are important and how to mow gently can make a big difference. Signs near protected meadows can help people learn. When we understand how mowing affects arthropods, we can work together and make better choices to protect the beautiful meadows arthropods call home.

Glossary

Arthropods: ↑ Small animals with six or more legs, like insects and spiders. They have hard outer shells and must shed their shells to grow. There are millions of arthropod species!

Pollinators: ↑ They visit flowers and carry pollen from one plant to another, also sometimes unintentionally. This helps plants to reproduce and make fruits and seeds.

Decomposers: ↑ Organisms that eat dead plants and animals, which then turns into nutrients. This enriches the soil for new plants to grow.

Ecosystem: ↑ A community of plants, animals, and other living things working together with the surrounding environment, like soil, water, and sunlight, to stay balanced and healthy.

Habitat: ↑ The space where animals and plants live, where they can find food, shelter, and mates—their home.

Biodiversity: ↑ The variety of life on Earth, including different ecosystems, species, and genes within species. It is essential for healthy environments and deeply connected to our lives.

Life Cycle: ↑ Life stages. For example, a butterfly starts as a tiny egg, hatches into a caterpillar, changes into a pupa, and finally transforms into a beautiful butterfly.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

This study was conducted within the BioDivKultur project (16LW0074K) funded by FEdA, the BMBF Research Initiative for the Conservation of Biodiversity.

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