Summary 0[ The patterns of arthropod diversity were investigated in 13 montane wetlands in Switzerland[ These di}ered in altitude\ management regime "cattle!grazing vs[ mowing#\ vegetation structure "index combining vegetation height and density# and degree of habitat fragmentation[ 1[ The general arthropod diversity was determined by net sampling at 09 sampling points per site[ The diversity of grasshoppers and butter~ies was measured by counting species richness at the site and species density "species richness per unit area# on transects[ The species richness of grasshoppers and butter~ies was found to be more sensitive to the geographical attributes of the site whereas species density was more a}ected by the habitat quality[ 2[ Grasshopper diversity decreased within the observed altitudinal range "799Ð0399 m# and was higher at grazed sites\ whereas butter~y diversity was higher at mown sites[ Arthropod diversity but not abundance of arthropods was positively related to the vegetation structure[ 3[ The species richness of butter~ies was negatively in~uenced by the degree of habitat fragmentation] both the size of habitat as well as the area of wetland habitats within 3 km were related positively to the number of specialist wetland butter~ies[ 4[ Late mowing as well as low!density cattle!grazing are appropriate management actions to maintain arthropod diversity in montane wetlands[ In order to establish site!speci_c management plans\ the biology of the present target species as well as the historical context should be considered[ 5[ We suggest that the best protection for the species examined in this study would be a network of wetland sites managed using a variety of traditional\ non!intensive methods[ This can only be achieved by coordinated planning of conservation measures among sites[ Key!words] biodiversity\ global change\ management strategies\ metapopulation structure[ Journal of Applied Ecology "0888# 25\ 252Ð262

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