Andreas Bosshard

ELPR Ecology+Landscape Planning+Research Ltd

Evaluation of the agropolitical instrument "Ecological Interconnection Projects" in Switzerland. Available only in German.

Develop the sustainability potential of Swiss agriculture by providing ecological and economic whole-farm-advice. Research Report, available only in German. Federal Office for Environment / Vision Landwirtschaft.

Die enorme Bautätigkeit hinterlässt jedes Jahr grosse Flächen, die wieder begrünt werden müssen. Über zehn Quadratkilometer davon werden weder intensiv landwirtschaftlich noch anderweitig genutzt und bieten dadurch ideale Voraussetzungen zur Förderung der Biodiversität. Ein zentraler Faktor ist dabei die Verwendung von standortgemässem, lokalem ode...

Grasslands of Switzerland and Central Europe. With emphasis on Arrhenatheretum meadows and sustainable fodder production In mountainous regions with a temperate climate, grasslands provide the most important ecosystem for agriculture and the production of milk and meat. At the same time, agricul- turally used grasslands encompass a major part of C...

Hochlagenbegrünung Végétalisation en altitude Rinverdimento ad alta quota Hochlagenbegrünung Végétalisation en altitude Rinverdimento ad alta quota Hochlagenbegrünungen stellen besondere Anforderungen an das verwendete Saatgut. Arten und Ökotypen aus tieferen Lagen sind nicht an die speziellen Standortbedingungen im Gebirge angepasst. Da standorta...

The article presents a new techique to harvest and produce species rich seed mixtures directly from species rich donor meadows for ecological restoration (in German and French).

Faktenblatt Vision Landwirtschaft

Der Bundesrat wird voraussichtlich Ende 2016 einen Nationalen Aktionsplan Pflanzenschutzmittel verab- schieden (NAP). Zahlreiche Organisationen aus Konsumenten-, Produzenten- und Umweltkreisen wollten die Fach- und die Konzeptarbeit zur Frage, inwieweit der Pestizideinsatz in der Schweiz reduziert werden kann und soll, nicht allein dem Bund überlas...

Le Conseil fédéral adoptera probablement fin 2016 un Plan d’action national sur les produits phytosanitaires (PAN-PPh). De nombreuses organisations représentant les consommateurs, les producteurs et les défenseurs de l’environnement n’ont pas souhaité confier à la seule Confédération le travail technique et conceptuel relatif à la question de savoi...

Die bisher umfangreichste Erfassung der Pestizidbelastung in fünf mittelgrossen Fliessgewässern im Jahr 2012 zeigte, dass ökotoxikologische Qualitätskriterien und gesetzliche Anforderungen häufig überschritten werden. Zur Verminderung des Pestizideintrags aus landwirtschaftlichen Flä-chen gibt es neben Massnahmen am Feldrand, wie z. B. Pufferstreif...

Faktenblatt Vision Landwirtschaft

The new Swiss Agricultural Policy 2014–2017 (AP 14–17) is designed to better compensate farmers for their production of common goods such as ecosystem services. We investigated the attitudes of Swiss farmers towards this new political measure and towards the trend of the increasing ecological performance of agriculture. In addition, we studied the...

Der Leitfaden bietet für Begrünungsaufgaben eine umfassende Arbeitshilfe. Er soll Amtsstellen, Bauunternehmen, Ingenieurbüros und Begrünungsunternehmer in der anspruchsvollen Aufgabe unterstützen, hochwertige Begrünungen zu realisieren. Der Schwerpunkt des Leitfadens liegt dabei auf den ökologischen Aspekten. In übersichtlicher Form werden die Mögl...

Une comparaison des relevés de végétation historiques et actuels de prairies intensives montre un recul dramatique de la diversité spécifique dans les prairies des régions de plaine en Suisse. En 1920, on ne trouvait pratiquement que des prairies dépassant largement le niveau de qualité de biodiver- sité QII. En 1950, au minimum 85 % des prairies l...

The decline of Arrhenatherum mead- ows in the Swiss lowland and its consequences for biodiversity A comparison of historic and current vegetation surveys of intensively managed meadows reveals a dramatic decline of species diversity in Swiss lowland grassland. In the 1950s, the most intensively managed meadows were Arrhenatherum meadows. Over 85 %...

A comparison of historic and current vegetation surveys of intensively managed meadows reveals a dramatic decline of species diversity in Swiss lowland grassland. In the 1950s, the most intensively managed meadows were Arrhenatherum meadows. Over 85 % of these achieved the QII standard defining meadows with «high biodiversity value», and more than...

Das Merkblatt fasst die Ergebnisse eines Projekts zur Erhaltung und Förderung der Fromental- und Goldhaferwiesen zusammen. Auf der Basis von Felderhebungen und Literaturrecherchen wurden geeignete Massnahmen auf praktischer und administrativer Ebene identifiziert und praxisnah aufgearbeitet. Eine Schlüsselrolle kommt Vernetzungsprojekten zu. Ihr re...

This study examined whether meadow edges have higher plant species richness and evenness than the centre of meadows and whether these effects differ between management intensity and altitudes. Vascular plant species were recorded in three different regions of the Swiss Alps using a paired meadow-edge sampling approach, and three types of meadow edg...

Most field margins on arable land in Switzerland are narrow and intensively managed. As a consequence, field margins generally harbour few plant and animal species. To enhance biodiversity in arable landscapes, sown species-rich field margins, so-called improved field margins, were introduced in 2008 as a part of the Swiss agri-environment scheme....

Faktenblatt Vision Landwirtschaft

Das Buch analysiert die aktuellen Entwicklungen in der Landwirtschaft und deren Wirkungen auf die Produktion von Lebensmitteln, auf die Umwelt und auf die von der Verfassung geforderten gemeinwirtschaftlichen Leistungen. Dabei werden grosse Defizite zu Tage gefördert, aber auch Stärken und Chancen der heutigen Agrarpolitik aufgezeigt. Herzstück des...

Faktenblatt Vision Landwirtschaft

The study investigated the negative influence of unmown stripes on grasshoppers in extensively managed meadows which is the most widespread type of ecological compensation areas in Switzerland. In the unmown stripes compared to the mown areas ten times more individuals per area and significantly more species of grasshoppers were found after mowing....

The study investigated the negative influence of unmown stripes on grasshoppers in extensively managed meadows which is the most widespread type of ecological compensation areas in Switzerland. In the unmown stripes compared to the mown areas ten times more individuals per area and significantly more species of grasshoppers were found after mowing....

Arable land in Switzerland harbours low biodiversity and lacks permanent species-rich structures. To remedy this situation,improved field margins(IFMs)will be introduced as a new ecological compensation type in the Swiss Lowlands. IFMs are extensively managed, sown species- and flower-rich vegetation strips which provide both habitats for a wide ra...

Kipfer T. and Bosshard A. 2007. Low seed bank of herb species suitable for grazing hampers the establishment of wood pastures in the Swiss lowlands. Bot. Helv. 117: 159 – 167. Controlled forest grazing is expected to yield benefits for biodiversity conservation, landscape quality, and in some cases also for land use economy. In the Swiss lowlands,...

Species-rich seed mixtures were developed and tested to establish improved field margins (IFM) which increase floral and faunal diversity, effects of IFM on bio indicators were studied and the public's valuation of IFM was evaluated. The use of species rich seed mixtures with regional ecotypes was able to re-introduce rare plant species that former...

Zusammenfassung G egenwärtig werden die Weichen gestellt für die Neuausrichtung der öffentlichen Beiträge an die Landwirtschaft (AP 2011). Die erstmals in der Schweizer Agrarpolitik drohenden Budgetkürzungen und die für die Landwirtschaft existentiellen Forderungen der WTO werden grundsätzliche Anpassungen unumgänglich machen. Derzeit werden nur mi...

1 Agroecosystems have long been viewed as sites of low biodiversity, but their importance for landscape-level diversity is now increasingly recognised. However, our knowledge of the determinants of biodiversity in these widespread and thus important ecosystems is still fragmentary. Land-use intensity and landscape structure seem to be the most impo...

Tansy ragwort and other ragwort species in Switzerland: an overview Articles in the Swiss press on tansy ragwort (Seneciovjacobaea) have lead to a broad uncertainty. In the present article, we summarize the available information about this and the two other indigenous grassland ragwort species outside the alpine summer pastures. Senecio jacobaea a...

Supported by agricultural policy, landscape planning projects and innovative farms, landscape development by habitat restoration has become a new and important trend in the cultural landscape. In many european countries its effects have become visible. However, experiences so far show that landscape development is a particular challenge and needs m...

The language game of landscape ecology entails several action-guiding verbs like “promote”, “enhance”, “restore”, “preserve”, “safeguard”, “ensure”, “upgrade” to name just a few. They are closely related to conceptions of what should be done. Due to this evaluative and protective character of landscape ecology and due to its connectivity with evalu...

The significance of restored flower-rich hay meadows on set- aside land for butterflies and grasshoppers. We analysed the faunistic significance of newly restored, flower-rich hay meadows (Arrhenatheretum, type of compensation area „species rich grassland on arable set-aside land“) on behalf of the indicator species butterflies and grasshoppers. A...

Sustainability may be regarded as one of the most challenging and, at the same time, most fuzzy contemporary paradigms. In the present study, referring to the history of other leading ideas, this confusion is identified as a typical feature of young paradigms with a particular danger of misuse and destruction of the idea. Requirements necessary to...

How turn arable land and intensively farmed, species-poor grassland into species-rich hay meadows? What is the significance of species-rich meadows for the cultural landscape and how can flower-rich hay meadows be integrated into farming in a useful and economically viable way? The paper summarises results of a ten-year study and presents in its ap...

Thesis (doctoral)--Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, 1998.

On the basis of summarized experiences in agricultural landscape planning of the few last years in Switzerland the landscape evaluation and the implementation process are analysed; the principles of a ‘holistic’ approach are outlined. It is shown that, epistemologically, objectivity in valuation and priority-setting emerges out of a dialectic cogni...

The conservation of anthropogenic biotops needs continuing management. Each management and protection does influence the fauna. The aim of this investigation in a Primulo-Schoenetum is to find a concept to diminish the negative effects of management in a anthropogenic marsh. Four comparable plots were permanently managed or left in fallow for one a...

Summary The success of international biodiversity and landscape standards for organic agriculture will be determined by the acceptance as well as the ecological and taxonomic knowledge of farmers and certification bodies - and by the recognition of consumers, politicians and the conservation movement. Therefore a thorough extension and communicatio...