Proctecting the cornerstone of our existence

Swiss have a long tradition of fostering and preserving the country’s biodiversity and understand it is the cornerstone of our existence on Earth. The Swiss agriculture policy supports biotopes, or biological communities, and has proactively set agreements to protect and manage biotopes such as raised bogs, fenlands and dry grasslands, and land owners who carry out these set agreements receive compensation. New agricultural policy, taking effect from 2014 to 2017, has made direct payments to land owners managing biotopes possible. In order to assess the possible landscape quality effects of these supported biotopes, the Canton of Glarus’s Department Construction and Environment commissioned ARNAL, Büro für Natur und Landschaft AG, to conduct a study covering all areas in need of protection in Canton Glarus.

ARNAL首席执行官，本研究项目经理Robert Meier在2014年夏天与他的实习生Elias在Glarus Alps一起度过了两个星期。在此期间，他们测量了土地区域，并收集了有关生物流行的其他相关信息，并与当地土地管理者达成了最终确定的协议。携带Leica CS25 GNSS PC，以数字方式从需要提交评估的表面区域收集数据。

As a company with extensive environmental experience that works closely with its customers, ARNAL has always supported the envirnoment, taking the landscape needs into consideration first. In the summer of 2014, ARNAL were commissioned to make new land management agreements and update existing ones in order to protect the fragile biotopes found in the Glarus Alps. For this purpose, land area sizes needed to be assessed and agreements negotiated with the land managers locally.

Checking and expanding biotopes
在这个项目期间，实习生埃里亚斯（Elias）获得了对生态学家的含义的第一手经验。罗伯特·迈耶（Robert Meier）在徒步旅行中向埃里亚斯（Elias）解释了在每个生物室中都可以找到的财富和多样性，并向埃里亚斯（Elias）展示了如何使用莉卡·泽诺（Leica Zeno）GIS片剂。在短时间内，Elias熟悉该设备并准备开始收集数据。

Under the supervision of Robert Meier, Elias was able to verify existing biotope sizes on location by using the tablet’s integrated GPS and the Leica Zeno field application. Any area sizes which needed to be changed were carried out directly in the field using precise positional data. As Robert Meier explained, “Using the Leica Zeno Field, we were able not only to record and correct geometric surfaces but we could also enter valuable information on managing the corresponding areas for later assessment directly in the field.”

回到办公室，将数据直接导入到QGIS GIS系统中，QGIS GIS系统是一个免费的开源程序，用于创建，分析和发布地理空间信息。得益于在Leica Zeno Field上进行的工作，不再需要手动在现场地图中绘制区域并在办公室后来对其进行数字化。

理想的方向在现场 - 即使天气不佳
It's well known that weather can change very quickly in the mountains, and the summer of 2014 was no exception. This made having an orientation aid all the more helpful in misty conditions with poor visibility. “We used to use paper maps for this, which had to be protected from the rain. Thanks to the water-proof Leica CS25 tablet, we can leave the umbrella behind and pinpoint our exact position in the area through localisation. It's also possible to ‘pilot’ the navigation function to the desired location,” said Meier.

使无形的边界线可见
Leica CS25平板电脑还为团队提供了其他优势，例如显示边界线的能力，这些边界线经常看不到或发现。“例如，在直接付款方面，财产边界线起着至关重要的作用。使用Leica CS25，我们能够向土地管理者展示现场的边界线。土地使用边界，例如森林的界限，在付款方面也起着作用。我们也可以在平板电脑上向它们展示这些边界，并将其作为讨论的基础。” Meier解释说。

“我们在该项目中使用Leica CS25 GNS的经验非常积极，因为某些工作步骤可以合并，而其他工作则根本不需要。罗伯特·梅尔（Robert Meier）总结说：“数据是通过GPS迅速而精确地记录的，这意味着我们可以将在位置所花费的时间减少相当大的程度。”

信不信由你，这也可能有缺点。实习生埃里亚斯（Elias）会很乐意在格拉鲁斯（Glarus）阿尔卑斯山（Glarus Alps）花更多的时间：“我在那里玩得很开心。我们每天都在外面，一天完成后，我们知道我们已经为环境做了积极的事情。”

Written by Robert Meier and Hildegard Holenstein