About the butterfly and bumblebee inventory

Since 2006, SLU (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) has been surveying butterflies and bumblebees in semi-natural grasslands across the country. This survey is part of the environmental monitoring programme Monitoring Changes in the Quality of Semi-Natural Grasslands, which SLU conducts on behalf of the Swedish Board of Agriculture. 

The butterfly and bumblebee survey is carried out by the Section of Landscape Analysis at the Department of Forest Resource Management in Umeå and forms part of the Agricultural Landscape programme. 

Data is collected through annual field surveys, which is then used to analyse the status and changes in the quality of semi-natural grasslands within Sweden’s agricultural landscape. It also contributes to the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s monitoring of the environmental quality objective A Varied Agricultural Landscape. Additionally, the impact of policy instruments within the Rural Development Programme and the EU's Common Agricultural Policy are evaluated. Our data is also used in research, both at SLU and other universities. 

If you would like to know more, please refer to the contact details below.