The Assessment and Promotion of Species-rich Grassland The German federal state of Baden-Württemberg and the country of Switzerland are among the first regions of Europe to have used species richness of grasslands as the basis for some agricultural promotion programmes. Many experts have contributed to the realisation of this new, results-oriented model, and the success they have had has vindicated their efforts. In both Baden-Württemberg and Switzerland, the programmes have struck a positive chord with landowners. In order to satisfy the considerable level of interest, both in these regions and further afield, this book presents the initial results of the model in a broad and practical fashion, as a contribution to the further support and development of multifunctional agriculture. The book deals with the extensively used grassland types of both regions, together with questions of fertilisation, the value of the feed and the appropriate time for mowing and feed utilisation, together with an examination of the administrative aspects of implementation, the perspectives of the landowners and various conservation groups, and also the broader economical and ecological interrelationships.

Dr. Rainer Oppermann ist Leiter des Instituts für Landschaftsökologie und Naturschutz (ILN) Singen.