33 - Biodiversity and ecosystem functions in the agricultural landscape

Programme manager:

Programme director:

Objective

To better understand the effects of agricultural production on above- and below-ground biodiversity in order to further develop existing measures for conserving biodiversity and to develop highly effective, innovative new measures. The ecosystem services and functions provided by biodiversity should be understood and highlighted to enable tipping points to be identified in good time.

• Specific objectives

  • Investigate different stress factors which impact biodiversity (including wild pollinators, pest antagonists, microorganisms that support soil fertility, etc.) and especially their interactions (e.g. climate change, light pollution, plant protection products, tillage, mowing, resource availability, etc.).
  • Conduct time-series analysis of insect population trends (biomass and composition) in Switzerland based on historical data to understand possible reasons for changes
  • Better understand changes in biodiversity due to different stress factors and the implications for ecosystem functions and services for agricultural production, with the aim of ensuring a secure and reliable provision of services in agricultural crops.
  • Conduct basic research on the influence of intraspecific genetic diversity to increase the resilience of crops.
  • Identify critical developments towards tipping points at an early stage and propose courses of action.

Expected outcomes

A better understanding of the relationship between biodiversity and the services it provides for agriculture supports the design of effective and efficient measures to preserve and support biodiversity and its ecosystem functions and services and enables tipping points to be identified.

Projects

Read more