Research

Extensively managed meadows registered under Swiss agri-environment scheme still often harbour a species-poor plant community, probably due to a depleted seed bank and/or lack of seed input. In this context, active restoration by seed addition has been used to enhance plant species richness. While positive effects of this action on the vegetation have been reported, little is known about its impact on wild bees, an important group of wild pollinators. During my Master thesis, I will investigate how four different restoration methods implemented on extensively managed meadows in the Swiss lowland affect the local wild bee community. This MSc project is part of the wider lowland grassland restoration project of the Conservation Biology division.