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Designation of regional nature parks in Switzerland significantly boosts the adoption of direct payment schemes aimed at promoting biodiversity conservation (agri-environment schemes, AES), particularly in regions with relatively more intensive farming and low prior uptake of such schemes. Although both regional nature parks and agri-environment schemes (AES) aim to conserve biodiversity, the interaction between these…

Duckweed can efficiently produce protein-rich biomass on nutrient-rich waters, such as wastewater or liquid farmyard manure, while simultaneously binding nitrogen and phosphorus. This presents potential for modern circular economy systems.

Imports from abroad were incorporated into Switzerland’s farm-gate-budget-based agricultural nutrient budget calculation to expand it into a food-system budget. This allows assessment of self-sufficiency, nutrient use and circularity to be assessed in addition to nutrient surpluses.

Results-based biodiversity promotion is an approach that is being discussed in the context of agricultural policy as an alternative to the current system that is based on implementable measures. The survey shows that there is considerable interest among farmers.

Private initiatives such as carbon credit trading can support public policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Agroscope and ETH Zürich examined factors which influence the effectiveness of such initiatives.

The occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) is widely documented in soils, water bodies, drinking water and foods. An analysis by Agroscope ranks the contribution made by plant-protection products and other sources to groundwater contamination with PFAS.

Nitrogen from agriculture, traffic, and industry enters soils and water bodies via the air. A new study shows for the first time that increased nitrogen deposition has a negative impact on bird populations – even in semi-natural habitats.

Greenhouse gas emissions from drained carbon-rich soils are being underestimated in GHG accounting. To resolve this, their distribution and emissions need to be better assessed. Accordingly, improvements for the GHG reporting system are suggested.