Biodiversity monitoring

Detecting and monitoring Invasive Alien Species in terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms, including Non-Indigenous Species in marine realm

Rationale

The severe global threat posed by invasive alien species (IAS) is underappreciated, underestimated, and often even unacknowledged. The recent assessment report on invasive alien species from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that more than 37,000 alien species have been introduced by many human activities to regions and biomes around the world, across all three realms of biodiversity. More than 3,500 of these IAS are harmful, i.e. seriously threatening nature, nature’s contributions to people and good quality of life. Repeatable and efficient sampling methods that can expand the extent and resolution of monitoring invasive alien species and speed up the process of updating regional and global overviews on changes in the occurrence of IAS are critically needed. Note that this priority includes the near-synonymous term of non-indigenous species (NIS) in the marine realm, as the adverse effects of alien species necessary to qualify invasiveness are rather difficult to assess in marine environments.

Existing initiatives and policy relevance

Monitoring of IAS is a key element of the EU Invasive alien species Regulation (1143/2014) on the prevention and management of the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. The core of the Regulation is the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union concern (Union List). As a key element of the implementation of this regulation, the European Alien Species Information Network (EASIN) facilitates the exploration and sharing of existing information on alien species across Europe. In the marine realm, regional coordination for the development and application of appropriate monitoring methods for early detection of NIS exist within the Baltic Marine Environment Protection Commission (Helsinki Commission, HELCOM) and the OSPAR Commission (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic). At a broader scale, the Target 6 of the GBF is highly relevant (“Reduce the Introduction of Invasive Alien Species by 50% and Minimize Their Impact”), and supported by the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) to maximise the data utility for biodiversity monitoring and IAS management.

Biodiversa+ activities

The Biodiversa+-funded project CLIMATE INVASIVES (“Minimizing the negative effects of climate change-induced spread of invasive alien species to marine protected areas”), under the BiodivProtect call, will notably detect and monitor IAS in marine protected areas. In addition, Biodiversa+ has launched an IAS pilot in January 2023, which aims to establish the foundation for the implementation of transnational monitoring of invasive alien plant and insect species, using innovative imaging methods.

In addition, two pilot candidates related to IAS will be developed in 2025. The first one will focus on the monitoring of marine NIS through introduction sites, while the second will focus on the harmonization of IAS early detection and rapid response systems in freshwater. Both candidates suggest the use of standardised protocol based on metabarcoding, i.e. the simultaneous identification of multiple taxa through environmental DNA (eDNA).

Finally, 7 Biodiversa+ partners invested in national biodiversity monitoring activities on invasive alien species through Biodiversa+ during the 1st instalment: ExEA, MESD, MoC_EE, NEA, OFB, SAS and SPW_DGO3. This figure increased to 13 during the Biodiversa+ 2nd instalment: DACC, EPA_M, MEPA, MoE_DK, MoC_EE, MoEP, NEA, NPWS, OFB, SAS, SPW_DGO3, SwAM and VL O.

Monitoring micro-organisms, micro-, meso- and macrofauna of topsoil and litter, from bacteria to earthworms, including fungi

Rationale

Soils are home to almost 60 % of the known species, and many more, particularly from the microbial species pool, are still unknown. Soil organisms are involved in a wide range of soil and ecosystem processes such as litter decomposition, nutrient cycling, water filtration and pest control and are thus essential for ecosystem functioning. Little is known about how soil organisms will be affected by global change and how changes in community composition will affect ecosystem processes, mainly because long-term data on soil biodiversity are largely lacking. In addition, species identification has been difficult due to the wide range of taxa that make up soil communities, and taxa have mostly only been identified at the level of the order or family (for invertebrates) or operational taxonomic unit (for microorganisms). Thus, there is immense need for more soil biodiversity data, especially comprising all taxons, ranging from microbes (including fungi) to invertebrates, an assessment which is currently largely missing. Novel technologies, such as eDNA, are now mature enough to help bridge this gap.

Existing initiatives and policy relevance

Several initiatives have been launched recently to monitor soil biodiversity, such as the Land Use/Land Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) Soil module in Europe and the global Soil Biodiversity Observation Network (SoilBON). While LUCAS aims at agricultural sites, SoilBON uses a paired approach with a protected and an unprotected site, but with only few sites in Europe. The EU has a list of policies in which soil biodiversity plays a key role, such as the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, which includes the EU Soil Strategy 2030, the Habitats Directive, the NRR, and the upcoming Soil Monitoring Law (proposal for a Directive on Soil Monitoring and Resilience), which aims, among other things, at healthy soils to ensure food security. In addition, the EU Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe” aims to establish 100 living labs and lighthouses to lead the transition towards healthy soils by 2030.

Notable projects funded through the Mission include:

• BENCHMARKS (“Building a European Network for the Characterisation and Harmonisation of Monitoring Approaches for Research and Knowledge on Soils”), which will guide the selection of soil health indicators and assessment;
• AI4SoilHealth (“Accelerating collection and use of soil health information using AI technology to support the Soil Deal for Europe and EU Soil Observatory”), which will develop tools to assess and monitor soil health metric;
• BIOservicES (“Linking soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services in different land uses: From the identification of drivers, pressures and climate change resilience to their economic valuation”), which aims to identify the pressures and drivers influencing soil organisms;
• SOB4ES (“Integrating SOil Biodiversity to Ecosystem Services: testing cost-effectiveness of Soil Biodiversity indicators and the provision of soil biodiversity-based Ecosystem Services to build better land management solutions that effectively implement the EU Soil Strategy”), which will monitor ecosystem condition and enhance soil biodiversity and its contribution to ecosystem services;
• and ECHO (“Engaging Citizens in soil science: the road to Healthier sOils”), which will notably involve citizens in data collection on soil-related matters.

Biodiversa+ activities

Three Biodiversa+-funded projects (1 under the BiodivProtect call and 2 under the BiodivMon call) relate to this priority:

• MicroEco (“Microbial Diversity, Ecosystem Services of the Soil Microbiome and Ecosystem Conservation”) will monitor rare and endangered species from soil DNA and several ecosystem services provided by the soil biome;
• FunDive (“Monitoring and mapping fungal diversity for nature conservation”) will bridge the gap for fungi monitoring;
• SoilRise (“Raising awareness for soil biodiversity and multiplying monitoring by student-based Citizen Science”) will monitor earthworms through Citizen Science.

In addition, Biodiversa+ has launched a Soil biodiversity pilot in January 2023, which aims to advance a possible large-scale soil biodiversity monitoring scheme by developing a feasible experimental design, defining and optimising a common protocol for field and laboratory work, as well as testing the use of EBVs and other indicators of soil diversity and functionality in soil biodiversity monitoring (in particular those that have been proposed by the Soil Monitoring Law).

In addition, 5 Biodiversa+ partners invested in national biodiversity monitoring activities on soil biodiversity through Biodiversa+ during the 1st instalment: BMUV, BOZEN, SAS, SEPA and VL O. This figure increased to 7 during the Biodiversa+ 2nd instalment: BOZEN, DACC, EAA, MEPA, SAS, SEPA and VL O.

Monitoring biodiversity in urban, peri-urban and urban-fluvial environments

Rationale

Urban biodiversity is often overlooked, despite the demonstrated social and health benefits associated with green spaces in a broad sense, from ecosystem services to well-being and mental health. There is increasing evidence that healthy urban ecosystems are more resistant to climate change and are one of the key measures for adapting and mitigating climate change impacts in cities. Pressures on urban biodiversity, which includes strictly protected taxa, range from light, noise, air, water and soil pollution to urban management that does not take into account ecological needs of taxa and urban ecosystems in order to be sustainable.

In addition, there is limited harmonisation of methods and indicators for measuring urban biodiversity at the European scale. In line with the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, as well as the new NRR, it is now critical to monitor the status and trends of urban biodiversity, in order to develop informed conservation measures and guidelines for sustainable management of green infrastructure, as well as other urban areas that are important for biodiversity, roosts in buildings, river banks, etc. Since 75 % of the European population lives in cities, that makes city dwellers a key target group to raise awareness about biodiversity and mobilise citizen science.

Existing initiatives and policy relevance

This work should be conducted hand in hand with the Green City Accord, a movement of European cities (with over 100 signatories) committed to making cities cleaner and healthier, and build on the outcome of BiodiverCities, a pilot project nearing completion with the aim to enhance the biodiversity and green infrastructure of European cities. Potential links with the Driving Urban Transitions Partnership will also need to be explored, such as common approaches to evaluate the degree of biodiversity in European urban areas. Several national or local initiatives also exist, such as the French Capitals of Biodiversity and the newly established centre for research of urban biodiversity “Sciurus” in Zagreb (Croatia), and would also benefit from the monitoring dimension of this priority.

Biodiversa+ activities

A pilot candidate focusing on monitoring urban biodiversity has been developed for the second wave of Biodiversa+’s pilots (2024–2025), but was eventually withdrawn before evaluation. In addition, 4 Biodiversa+ partners invested in national biodiversity monitoring activities on urban biodiversity through Biodiversa+ during the 2nd instalment: BOZEN, MoEP, SAS and SPW_DGO3.