Since 1993 Swiss farmers increasingly convert land to low-input habitats, these ecological compensation areas (ECA) making up today 10% of the Utilised Agricultural Area. To assess whether ECA introduction allows enhancing agro-biodiversity, biodiversity indicators are monitored in the Swiss Plateau. ECA had higher diversity of plant, bird, and arthropod species. However, in some ECA meadows and traditional orchards, the composition of the vegetation still reflected their former intensive management. It is concluded that faunistic indicators react more rapidly to the introduction of ECA than the vegetation
