Prediction of butterfly diversity hotspots in Belgium: a comparison of statistically focused and land use-focused models

Aim: We evaluate differences between and the applicability of three linear predictive models to determine butterfly hotspots in Belgium for nature conservation purposes. Location: The study is carried out in Belgium for records located to Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) grid cells of 5 x 5 km. Methods: We first determine the relationship between factors correlated to butterfly diversity by means of modified t-tests and principal components analysis; subsequently, we predict hotspots using linear models based on land use, climate and topographical variables of well-surveyed UTM grid cells (... Mehr ...