ALL-EMA ‘Agricultural Species and Habitats’ Monitoring Programme
Many species and habitats owe their existence to agriculture, and their continued existence is dependent upon agricultural management ensuring their protection. In Switzerland, the agricultural landscape accounts for around 36% of the land area. Farmers base their management of this land on the agricultural policy guidelines, consumer behaviour and numerous additional influencing factors.
To maintain and promote biodiversity in agriculture, in 2008 the Federal Offices for the Environment (FOEN) and Agriculture (FOAG) formulated the Agriculture-related environmental objectives concerning biodiversity. To achieve these objectives, specific agricultural policy measures were determined. In addition, Agroscope developed the ALL-EMA monitoring programme on behalf of the FOAG and FOEN. The ALL-EMA monitoring programme ensures the systematic observation and quantification of the development of biodiversity in the Swiss agricultural landscape. In this way, the outcomes of the agricultural policy measures are evaluated and potential improvements are developed.
The Aims of ALL-EMA
Monitoring agriculture-related environmental objectives concerning species and habitat diversity Recording the state of and change in species and habitat diversity according to the Agriculture-related Environmental Objectives in the Swiss agricultural landscape.
Evaluation of biodiversity priority areas Assessing the state of and change in species and habitat diversity in biodiversity priority areas.
Research Analysis and provision of data for answering current and future questions concerning species and habitat diversity in the Swiss agricultural landscape.
Many plant and animal species depend on habitats shaped by agriculture. Where and with what frequency do which species occur in the agricultural landscape? What is the state of their habitats? How effective are the measures taken to increase biodiversity? Agroscope’s biodiversity monitoring programme ‘ALL-EMA’ records species and habitat diversity in the Swiss agricultural landscape. This is the basis for understanding the state of habitats on which agricultural production strongly depends. The findings show that at lower elevations (plain and hill zones), species and habitat diversity are markedly lower than at higher elevations (mountain zones).
