Mammals that use dry stone walls as habitats depend on sufficiently large cavities. Too small a back wall should be avoided, otherwise there will be too few crevices and cavities. Mammals that inhabit dry stone walls include mice, weasels, hedgehogs, dormice and bats.

Dry stone walls are colonised by mammals independently. However, the installation of caves can create an offer for colonisation. Renovations must take into account that in winter some mammals use dry-stone walls as winter quarters and cannot escape.

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Dormouse, found during wall demolition in Verdabbio in autumn 2005

Dry stone walls are valuable and extremely important habitat elements in the cultural landscape for amphibians, but especially for the heat-loving reptiles. Many species use the masonry as an annual habitat: they live continuously on or in the wall throughout the year. Other species need the masonry at least temporarily, for example as frost-proof winter quarters. The masonry also serves as a place for sunbathing and hiding, as a hunting ground and as an egg-laying site. Dry stone walls are also important as functional connecting corridors between two partial habitats.

All types of dry stone masonry are usable for amphibians and reptiles. The exception is combined natural stone-concrete masonry, which usually cannot meet the requirements of the two species groups. Particularly valuable are single-sided constructions, e.g. EH2S, EH3S, EH1S, EHBlock, EHKorb, which are additionally backwalled or backfilled with suitable material. This should largely consist of a heterogeneous mixture of stones with a diameter of at least 20 - 40 cm, so that there are sufficient usable cavities and passage systems. It is important for amphibians and reptiles to have sufficient joint width, which should be at least 20 - 30 mm in places, and 40 - 50 mm if large species are present. Specific access points should be created at the base of the wall. If possible, backfilling with finer material should be avoided. The backfill must be accessible to amphibians and reptiles; the use of filter fleeces should be avoided whenever possible. Particularly valuable are frost-free areas at a depth(h) of more than 100 cm that serve as winter quarters.

Dry stone walls are colonised independently by amphibians and reptiles; settlements should be avoided. Renovations must take into account that amphibians and reptiles use dry stone walls as winter quarters and cannot escape during hibernation. The dismantling of walls with machines is more harmful than dismantling by hand. If renovation is carried out in stages, the animals can escape to old sections of the wall or be relocated.

In dry stone wall projects (renovation and new construction), it must be clarified whether there is a known population of amphibians or reptiles in the project area. This information can be obtained from the karch (www.karch.ch) and the cantonal nature conservation offices. In consultation with these offices, the best course of action can be determined, or additional measures in the area can be planned (piles of branches, stone lenses, etc.).

The small inhabitants of dry stone walls (spiders, insects, snails) are little noticed, but represent by far the largest group of animals using dry stone walls as habitat. The mobility of the various genera and species varies. Ants, bugs, and spiders are very mobile and can quickly colonize larger areas. Arthropods (centipedes, millipedes, and beetles) and snails are not as mobile. They need more time to colonize. Only in older dry stone walls are animals with a very small radius of action, or very special requirements to be found, snails, for example, are dependent on moisture and humus and move very slowly. Woodlice also depend on sufficient moisture and humus, and the caterpillars of some butterflies, which are specialized on food plants found on walls (e.g. lichens, sedum), only colonize the wall when the corresponding plant is present.

Dry stone walls are independently colonized by spiders, insects and snails. The installation of cavities can possibly favor the settlement of bumblebees, wasps and hornets.

Some bird species (e.g. cavity-nesting birds such as hoopoes, tits, wheatears, little owls and dippers) like to use suitable cavities in dry stone walls for breeding. Too small a back wall should be avoided, as otherwise there will be too few crevices and cavities. The installation of suitable cavities can support settlement at suitable sites. Some cavity-nesting bird species (e.g. hoopoe, wryneck, various tit species, wheatear, little owl and dippers) like to use suitable cavities in dry stone walls for breeding. While titmouse species already use small cavities as nest sites, larger species such as the hoopoe or the little owl need niches with a larger volume. The dipper is a special case, as it is bound to sites along watercourses. The installation of cavities or specific nesting aids at suitable sites can promote the settlement of cavity-nesting bird species (cf. SVS/Bird Life Switzerland leaflet "Construction of hawk nesting aids"). Too small a back wall should be avoided, otherwise there will be too few crevices and cavities. When installing cavities, make sure that no surface water or seepage water gets into the nest, even during heavy rainfall.

The vegetation of dry stone walls is specialised for this habitat. The development of a wall vegetation can take decades and begins with the colonisation of the stone surfaces by so-called cryptogams, which include algae, fungi, mosses and lichens. The latter are organisms in which fungi and algae grow in symbiosis. Cryptogams are alternately moist. They can therefore dry out without dying. Later, when humus has formed in the joints, ferns and flowering plants can colonise the walls. Colonisation usually occurs through the entry of seeds by wind, insects and birds. Typical plant species are those that can survive longer dry periods, such as striped fern, wall pepper, houseleek and cinnamon weed. Depending on the orientation, rock type and age of the walls, different plant species and plant communities occur.

Plants do not need support during colonisation, but if possible, stones overgrown with lichen or moss are reinstalled in the new wall (same exposure). If there is agricultural use in the immediate vicinity, care should be taken to promote an extensively used herbaceous margin at the base of the wall. Late mowing would be an option to prevent the growth of woody plants. An unfertilised and non-pesticide-treated buffer strip of 3 to 5 metres along the wall is indispensable for ecologically valuable objects in order not to endanger the inhabitants of the walls and their biodiversity.