Connecting Earth observation to high-throughput biodiversity data

Bush, Alex and Sollmann, Rahel and Wilting, Andreas and Bohmann, Krsitine and Balzter, Heiko and Martius, Christopher and Zlinszky, András and Calvignac-Spencer, Sébastien and Cobbold, Christina A. and Dawson, Terence P. and Emerson, Brent C. and Ferrier, Simon and Gilbert, M. Thomas P. and Herold, Martin and Jones, Laurence and Leendertz, Fabian H. and Matthews, Louise and Millington, James D. A. and Olson, John R. and Ovaskainen, Otso and Raffaelli, Dave and Reeve, Richard and Rödel, Mark-Oliver and Rodgers, Torrey W. and Snape, Stewart and Visseren-Hamakers, Ingrid and Vogler, Alfried P. and White, Piran C. L. and Wooster, Martin J. and Yu, Douglas W. (2017) Connecting Earth observation to high-throughput biodiversity data. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1: 0176. ISSN 2397-334X

Abstract

Understandably, given the fast pace of biodiversity loss, there is much interest in using Earth observation technology to track biodiversity, ecosystem functions and ecosystem services. However, because most biodiversity is invisible to Earth observation, indicators based on Earth observation could be misleading and reduce the effectiveness of nature conservation and even unintentionally decrease conservation effort. We describe an approach that combines automated recording devices, high-throughput DNA sequencing and modern ecological modelling to extract much more of the information available in Earth observation data. This approach is achievable now, offering efficient and near-real-time monitoring of management impacts on biodiversity and its functions and services.