Biodiversity is the scientific term for biological diversity. It can also be translated as “diversity of nature.” Biodiversity represents the life around us in all its forms: the ecosystems (the gardens, forests, swamps, dry meadows, etc.), the species (the fox, robin, salamander, bacteria, boletes, etc.) and the genetic diversity (goats in a herd are not all the same, but each individual has its own genetic identity, just like us).
Human land use and management has influenced, and still influences, the occurrence of certain animal and plant species that depend on the anthropogenic environments. The region’s rural past has contributed to the presence of environments and species that, to this day, are considered rare or protected, due to the rarity of these environments somewhat throughout Switzerland. The Mara valley still retains many of these species, typical of the rural landscape partly still intact.
In this garden you will encounter various elements and structures that bear witness to the region’s rural past while serving as habitats for various species of plants and animals. The greater the diversity in structures and elements, the better the needs of more species will be met and the greater the biodiversity will therefore be!
The biodiversity garden is a beautiful example of an ecological network, that is, a mosaic of environments that meets the needs of a variety of plant and animal species, including dry stone walls, dry escarpments, natural hedges, fruit trees and native trees with cavities, and finally from the forest.
