We live in a world with rapid and unprecedented planetary changes. The ever-increasing consumption by humans and increased demand for energy, food, land and water, is driving a new geological epoch (the Anthropocene) in which nature and biodiversity are changing and disappearing at an alarming rate. International policy goals and targets such as those from the post-2020 global biodiversity framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) or the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 require to monitor biodiversity across space and time.

We are involved in several large research, innovation and infrastructure projects on biodiversity monitoring. In the EuropaBON project, we contribute to the co-design of the future biodiversity monitoring system across Europe. In the NIEBA ARISE project, we install and maintain various digital sensors in the field (including wildlife/insect cameras, sound devices and radar) and test technology and automated deployment at a range of monitoring demonstration sites in the Netherlands. Within the MAMBO project, we automate the execution of workflows for habitat condition metrics based on LiDAR and drone imagery from various European sites. With our work, we aim to (1) test and advance novel monitoring methods, (2) develop Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) as harmonized data products, and (3) develop ecoinformatic tools and e-infrastructure that supports the analysis and monitoring of biodiversity change.

Figure: Examples of digital sensors for biodiversity monitoring deployed within the NIEBA ARISE project.