Academic Education and Professional Experience

2006 Head of the group Social Sciences in Landscape Research at WSL
1999 - 2006 Head of the section Landscape & Society at WSL
1991 - 1998 Research in the reseach group Landscape Development at WSL
2000 PhD degree at University of Zurich, Switzerland
1991 University diploma in geography (with sociology and tourism research), University of Berne, Switzerland
1989 - 1991 Research assistant at University of Bern, Institute of Geography

Research Interests

My research interests focus on the interactions between people and landscape as well as nature, environment and space. In particular, I care about the following topics:

  • Attitudes of people regarding (former), current and future development of landscape, nature, environment, and space, including long-term monitoring of such attitudes.
  • Behaviour of people with regard to landscape, nature, environment, and space, and the possibilities to influence such behaviour actively.
  • Acceptance of nature conservation measures, such as species-conservation and protected areas, and evaluations of such measures.

Other Professional Activities

Projects

In Switzerland, there are two very different forest monitoring instruments: The National Forest Inventory NFI and the socio-cultural forest monitoring WaMos. The aim of the current project is to bridge physical and social aspects.

10 years after the first survey, experts in Switzerland are again being asked what they think the future challenges of landscape development will be.

The aim of WaMos is to investigate the relationship of the Swiss population to the forest. In WaMos3, important aspects of the last household survey are replicated and the survey instrument is further developed in terms of content and methodology.

Attraktivität von Wäldern wird meistens anhand von visuellen Merkmalen bestimmt. Waldwahrnehmung basiert aber nicht nur auf visuellen Eindrücken - alle Sinne spielen eine Rolle. In diesem Projekt wird die Waldwahrnehmung von Waldbesuchenden mit allen Sinnen, insbesondere des Gehörsinns, erfasst.

Can people in urban regions recover from stress in green spaces or is there too much noise? Researchers from WSL and Empa explore the audio-visual requirements green spaces have to meet to enable noise-exposed people to recover from stress.

The PAPPUS project aims to understand how decision makers influence the choice of plant assemblages and their management in different types of urban green spaces, and how their decisions in turn influence ecological and human benefits in a context of climate change and urban intensification.

The ENERGYSCAPE project investigates the perceived importance of new renewable energy infrastructures (wind, PV, high-voltage power lines) in the Swiss landscape from the point of view of the population. For this purpose, scenarios in typical Swiss landscapes with a mix of energy infrastructures will be developed and investigated by means of a representative Swiss online panel survey.

This initiative is aimed to establish a comprehensive European Forest Multifunctionality Monitoring System (EFMMS) that takes on the challenges posed by climate change and environmental stressors. The MoniFun project is a collaborative effort of 13 project partners from 11 European countries.

Projekt Wisent Thal aims to reintroduce the European bison (bison bonasus) to the Swiss Jura landscape. As part of the project, several measures are being implemented to enable the bison to adapt to their new natural environment and to familiarise people with their new wild neighbour. WSL accompagned this project carrying out a social science study which focussed on the regional acceptance of the reintroduction of bison, which is a decisive factor for the success of this reintroduction. A quantitative survey and in-depth qualitative interviews were used to analyse which socio-demographic factors or other parameters promote or hinder the acceptance of the reintroduction.

Das Projekt umfasst sechs Module, die gemeinsam Informationen sammeln, Wissen generieren und die Entwicklung eines Konzepts zur partizipativen Aufwertung einer Moorlandschaft ermöglichen.

Entwicklung eines Prototyps für die Typisierung und Charakterisierung von Landschaften auf Basis von physischen und wahrgenommenen Merkmalen. Der Prototyp wird in den Kantonen Zug, Waadt und Graubünden entwickelt mit dem Ziel, mittelfristig auf die ganze Schweiz anwendbar zu sein.

Publications

Zélie S., Hunziker M. (2025) Social acceptance of human–wildlife coexistence: a case study about the reintroduction of the large herbivore European bison (Bison bonasus) in Switzerland. Restor. Ecol. doi:10.1111/rec.14373 Institutional Repository DORA

Gisler L., Björnsen A., Bowman G., Buchecker M., Burg V., Hersperger A., … Seidl I. (2024) Energiewende: kommunale und regionale Handlungsmöglichkeiten. Merkblatt für die Praxis: Vol. 75. Birmensdorf: Eidg. Forschungsanstalt WSL. 12 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:35816 Institutional Repository DORA

Gisler L., Björnsen A., Bowman G., Buchecker M., Burg V., Hersperger A., … Seidl I. (2024) Transition énergétique: possibilités d’action aux niveaux communal et régional. Notice pour la pratique: Vol. 75. Birmensdorf: Institut fédéral de recherches WSL. 12 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:35818 Institutional Repository DORA

Hunziker M., Kleiner A., Graf O., Solèr R. (2024) "Aufs Wasser mit Rücksicht" - eine Kampagne mit Wirkung. Ergebnisse einer sozialwissenschaftlichen Evaluationsstudie. "Sur l'eau avec respect" - une campagne qui marche. Résultats d'une étude sociales. Nat. Paysag. Nat. Landsch. Inside. (2), 25-30. Institutional Repository DORA

Salak B., Spielhofer R., Hunziker M., Kienast F., Hayek U.W., Grêt-Regamey A. (2024) Erneuerbare Energien im Spannungsfeld gesellschaftlicher Ansprüche. Schweiz. Z. Forstwes. 175(4), 170-176. doi:10.3188/szf.2024.0170 Institutional Repository DORA

Salak B., Hunziker M., Grêt-Regamey A., Spielhofer R., Wissen Hayek U., Kienast F. (2024) Shifting from techno-economic to socioecological priorities: incorporating landscape preferences and ecosystem services into the siting of renewable energy infrastructure. PLoS One. 19(4 April), e0298430 (26 pp.). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0298430 Institutional Repository DORA

Torregroza L., Hunziker M., Bürgi M. (2024) Was ist eine schöne Landschaft? Qu'est-ce qu'un beau paysage? Quando un paesaggio è «bello»? FLS Bull. (67), 10-11. Institutional Repository DORA

Wunderlich A.C., Salak B., Hegetschweiler K.T., Bauer N., Hunziker M. (2024) How the COVID-19 pandemic changed forest visits in Switzerland: is there a back to normal? Landsc. Urban Plan. 249, 105126 (16 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.landurbplan.2024.105126 Institutional Repository DORA

Bou Dagher Kharrat M., Pötzelsberger E., Nabuurs G.J., Bauhus J., O'Hara J., Alberdi I., … Svensson J. (2023) SUPERB's policy recommendations for the EU Nature restoration Law. Towards biodiverse and adaptive forest landscapes for Europe's people. sine loco: SUPERB. 4 p. Institutional Repository DORA

Hegetschweiler K.T., Maidl E., Wunderli J.M., Stride C.B., Fischer C., Wunderli L., … Hunziker M. (2023) Influence of perceptual experiences, especially sounds, on forest attractiveness. In L. Koegst, O. Kühne, & D. Edler (Eds.), RaumFragen: Stadt-Region-Landschaft. Multisensory landscapes. Theories and methods. Wiesbaden: Springer VS. 255-277. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-40414-7_14 Institutional Repository DORA

Jürgens U.M., Grinko M., Szameitat A., Hieber L., Fischbach R., Hunziker M. (2023) Managing wolves is managing narratives: views of wolves and nature shape people’s proposals for navigating human-wolf relations. Hum. Ecol. 51(1), 35-57. doi:10.1007/s10745-022-00366-w Institutional Repository DORA

Kleiner A., Hunziker M. (2023) Stand-up paddling: a case study on the effect and impact pathway of information and appeals to reduce ecological conflicts. J. Outdoor Recreat. Tour. 44, 100677 (13 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.jort.2023.100677 Institutional Repository DORA

Mann S., Hunziker M., Torregroza L., Wartmann F., Kienast F., Schüpbach B. (2023) Landscape quality payments in Switzerland: the congruence between policy and preferences. J. Policy Model. 45(2), 251-265. doi:10.1016/j.jpolmod.2023.03.007 Institutional Repository DORA

Torregroza L., Wartmann F., Kienast F., Hunziker M. (2023) Landschaftsqualität in Regionalen Naturpärken. Ergebnisse der Landschaftsbeobachtung Schweiz LABES. WSL Berichte: Vol. 133. Birmensdorf: Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL. 74 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:32978 Institutional Repository DORA

Wunderlich A.C., Salak B., Hegetschweiler K.T., Bauer N., Hunziker M. (2023) Impacts of rising COVID-19 incidence and changed working conditions on forest visits in early 2020 of the pandemic: evidence from Switzerland. For. Policy Econ. 153, 102978 (14 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2023.102978 Institutional Repository DORA

Hegetschweiler T., Salak B., Wunderlich A.C., Bauer N., Hunziker M. (2022) Das Verhältnis der Schweizer Bevölkerung zum Wald. Waldmonitoring soziokulturell WaMos3. Ergebnisse der nationalen Umfrage. WSL Berichte: Vol. 120. (2nd ed.). Birmensdorf: Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL. 166 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:30512 Institutional Repository DORA

Hegetschweiler T., Salak B., Wunderlich A.C., Bauer N., Hunziker M. (2022) Das Verhältnis der Schweizer Bevölkerung zum Wald. Waldmonitoring soziokulturell WaMos3. Ergebnisse der nationalen Umfrage. WSL Berichte: Vol. 120. Birmensdorf: Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL. 166 p. doi:10.55419/wsl:29973 Institutional Repository DORA

Hegetschweiler K.T., Stride C.B., Fischer C., Ginzler C., Hunziker M. (2022) Integrating recreation into National Forest Inventories – Results from a forest visitor survey in winter and summer. J. Outdoor Recreat. Tour. 39, 100489 (12 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.jort.2022.100489 Institutional Repository DORA

Hegetschweiler K.T., Wartmann F.M., Dubernet I., Fischer C., Hunziker M. (2022) Urban forest usage and perception of ecosystem services – a comparison between teenagers and adults. Urban For. Urban Green. 74, 127624 (13 pp.). doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127624 Institutional Repository DORA

Hunziker M., Hegetschweiler T. (2022) Der Wald als Holzlieferant. In Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU) (Ed.), Umwelt-Wissen: Vol. 2212. Der Wald aus Sicht der Schweizer Bevölkerung. Ergebnisse der dritten Bevölkerungsumfrage Waldmonitoring soziokulturell (WaMos 3). Bern: Bundesamt für Umwelt (BAFU). 45-49. Institutional Repository DORA

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