Rich Lavaux biodiversity masks fragile ecosystem, study finds

The terraced Lavaux vineyards on Lake Geneva stretch over 800 hectares and form Switzerland's largest contiguous vineyard area. Keystone-SDA

A study has hailed the richness of Lavaux’s biodiversity, while highlighting the extreme fragility of the ecosystem in Switzerland’s largest single vineyard.

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“We’re disappointed in a good way,” biologist Raymond Delarze, who conducted the study with a team from the BEB biological research consultancy in Aigle, canton Vaud, told the Keystone-ATS news agency.

The independent study, entitled “Lavaux Nature Vivante”, was commissioned by the Fondation d’utilité publique Bovard in Cully. The foundation was set up in 2016 with the aim of safeguarding and enhancing the Lavaux region, near Lake Geneva.

Observation work and surveys were carried out between 2021 and 2022, and completed in 2025. In all, 21 sectors covering around 15 hectares were surveyed. In each sector, a reference route of 1,000 to 1,100 metres was set. “Our work has covered half of the entire Lavaux area, giving us a representative sample,” says Delarze.

Emblematic species

The Lavaux vineyards, an UNESCO World Heritage Site, are home to numerous plant and animal species, some of which are protected nationally. The area is home to 648 species of flowering plants and ferns, fifteen breeding birds, five reptiles, 25 locusts and grasshoppers and 56 molluscs.

Emblematic species include the green lizard, the northern wryneck and the cirl bunting, the rustyback fern, the blue pimpernel, the wild snapdragon, the yellow bugle and the field marigold.

Plants benefit from perfect exposure, the beneficial influence of the lake and the sheltered microclimate.

Unsatisfactory in the long term

“On the one hand, the conclusions are positive and encouraging. Biodiversity is relatively rich within the Lavaux perimeter. It is not in decline. We haven’t discovered any species extinction, but some rarefaction,” said Delarze. “Biodiversity is concentrated outside the cultivated vineyards.”

“So while the situation is anything but dramatic, on the other hand it is not satisfactory. The downside is that the population of certain species is very low and therefore very fragile. This is not ideal for guaranteeing the reproduction cycle and survival in the very long term,” said the specialist.

While Lavaux’s biodiversity has not suffered massive losses in terms of flora and fauna in recent times, it is nonetheless vital that it is protected, in particular through “specific conservation measures” for flora and fauna.

“We are at an important moment in terms of making the right decisions for the future. The priority is to strengthen and consolidate biodiversity,” said Delarze.

Adapted from French by AI/sb

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