As part of their duties under the UN convention, Swiss scientists monitor changes in flora and fauna. Among other things, the survey team has discovered previously unknown locations for many plant species. Its soil survey has also revealed the presence of some animals, such as snails, that had been thought extinct.

Switzerland has a rich diversity of species in comparison with many other countries. Several factors account for this. In the first place, it is a small country, centrally situated in Europe. It is therefore home to many species whose major areas of distribution lie beyond its borders. Secondly, the specific climatic regions of Ticino and Valais provide habitats that are not found elsewhere. Thirdly, it has a high proportion of alpine regions, the variety of which create a range of different habitats.

The highest diversity of plants is found on the northern Alpine slopes – a fact which surprised specialists in the biodiversity survey team, who had presumed it would be in the area south of the Alps.

The plateau area, however, is relatively poor in biodiversity because of the concentration of farming activity and the encroachment of human settlement.

In other research, scientists have investigated the long term impact of human intervention in mountain ecosystems. The results of the fertilisation and liming of Alpine grasslands in the 1930s in an attempt to make them more agriculturally productive can still be felt today, even though no further treatments were carried out. A range of plants which formerly thrived in the grassland environment have disappeared almost completely.