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Article alert: Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review

A new EU BON acknowledged paper "Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review" has been recently published in the journal Ecological Informatics.

Abstract: 

Many geospatial tools have been advocated in spatial ecology to estimate biodiversity and its changes over space and time. Such information is essential in designing effective strategies for biodiversity conservation and management. Remote sensing is one of the most powerful approaches to identify biodiversity hotspots and predict changes in species composition in reduced time and costs. This is because, with respect to field-based methods, it allows to derive complete spatial coverages of the Earth surface under study in a short period of time. Furthermore, remote sensing provides repeated coverages of field sites, thus making studies of temporal changes in biodiversity possible. In this paper we discuss, from a conceptual point of view, the potential of remote sensing in estimating biodiversity using various diversity indices, including alpha- and beta-diversity measurements.

Original Source: 

Rocchini D, Hernández-Stefanoni J L, He KS (2014) Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review. Ecological Informatics. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.10.006





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Bridging the gap between biodiversity data and policy reporting needs: An EBV perspective

Reporting under policy instruments to inform on the trends in biodiversity requires information from a range of different elements of biodiversity, from genetically viable populations to the structure of ecosystems. A new research looks into the Essential Biodiversity Variables as an analytic framework to identify ways in which gaps between biodiversity data and policy reporting needs could be bridged. The study was published in theJournal of Applied Ecology.

The Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs, Pereira et al. 2013) which were previously developed by ecology experts in GEO BON, is as a list of the most essential elements that need to be monitored worldwide, if we want to know how biodiversity is really changing.Example of essential variables is the population abundances of species (like the Living Plant Index from the WWF) or the extent of habitat fragmentation.

In the recently published study, funded by the EU FP7 project EU BON, scientists used the identified EBVs as a framework to analyse the gaps between the biodiversity objectives stated in international policy instruments, the indicators used to develop the related policy reports and the data that is actually available to quantify indicators and proxies.

Results of the recently published study show:

1) which aspects of biodiversity are being asked for the reporting on policy instruments. Based on this knowledge,it became apparent which aspects of biodiversity are not often asked to be in these reports and thus for which aspects policy makers are unlikely to receive information. For example information on the changes in the EBV class "Genetic Composition", was not often asked in reports, not often used in indicators and little data is directly available.

2) which of these biodiversity aspects actually end up being in the CBD reports, because scientists were able to quantify indicators. For instance, information for Ecosystem function is often asked for, but is not represented by many indicators.

3) for some EBVs data seems available to improve current reporting efforts, for instance for indicators on Ecosystem structure.

Additionally, the study identified which potentially available data could be used to improve existing indicators by adding more taxa or spatial or temporal coverage. This analysis also showed that the EBVs will not cover all the information asked in policy reporting. This is because the policy objectives also include things related to awareness raising of the public and the implementation of protection measures - aspects which are not within the scope of EBVs.

"Analytical properties, such as an identification of which data and indicators are relevant per EBV, will need to be addressed before EBVs can actually become operational and facilitate the integration of data flows for monitoring and reporting." commented the lead author of the study Dr. Ilse Geijzendorffer.

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Original Source:

Geijzendorffer, I.R., Regan, E.C., Pereira, H. M., Brotons, L., Brummitt, N., Gavish, Y., Haase, P., Martin, C.S., Mihoub, J.-B., Secades, C., Schmeller, D.S., Stoll, S., Wetzel, F. T., & Walters, M.,Journal of Applied Ecology http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.12417/abstract

Additional information:

Pereira, H.M., Ferrier, S., Walters, M., Geller, G.N., Jongman, R.H.G., Scholes, R.J. M. W. Bruford, Brummitt, N. , Butchart, S.H.M., Cardoso, A.C., Coops, N.C., Dulloo, E., Faith, D.P., Freyhof, J., Gregory, R.D., Heip, C., Höft, R., Hurtt, G., Jetz, W., Karp, D.S., McGeoch, M.A., Obura, D., Onoda, Y., Pettorelli, N., Reyers, B., Sayre, R., Scharlemann, J. P. W., Stuart, S.N., Turak, E., Walpole, M., & Wegmann, M. (2013) Essential biodiversity variables. Science, 339, 277-278.





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Article Alert: Indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators: a novel mechanism of tree species coexistence

A new aticle published in Ecology Letters  looks into the indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators. The reasearch is part of the work of EU BON postdoc Carol X. Garzon-Lopez.

Abstract: The coexistence of numerous tree species in tropical forests is commonly explained by negative dependence of recruitment on the conspecific seed and tree density due to specialist natural enemies that attack seeds and seedlings (‘Janzen–Connell’ effects). Less known is whether guilds of shared seed predators can induce a negative dependence of recruitment on the density of different species of the same plant functional group. We studied 54 plots in tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, with contrasting mature tree densities of three coexisting large seeded tree species with shared seed predators. Levels of seed predation were far better explained by incorporating seed densities of all three focal species than by conspecific seed density alone. Both positive and negative density dependencies were observed for different species combinations. Thus, indirect interactions via shared seed predators can either promote or reduce the coexistence of different plant functional groups in tropical forest.

Carol X. Garzon-Lopez et. al. (2015) Indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators: a novel mechanism of tree species coexistence. Ecology Letters. doi: 10.1111/ele.12452





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Data Management in Citizen Science Projects: share your experience!

It has been recognized that issues regarding the sustainability and interoperability of data collected by citizens hinder the re-usability and integration of these data across borders. The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), is following up on these findings with a detailed study of interoperability arrangements, hosting and data management practices of Citizen Science projects. These activities include a survey designed to capture the state of play with regard to data management practices on the local, national and continental scales. The questions are especially inspired by the recently proposed data management principles of the Group on Earth Observations and those of the Belmont Forum.

Beyond the pure stocktaking and awareness raising, the results should establish a base line for prioritizing follow-up activities and measuring progress. The results will also inform the discussion on the potential roles of the European Commission – and especially the JRC – in Citizen Science.

After discussions with members of the European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) and the international Citizen Science Association (CSA), it was decided to open the scope of the questionnaire to the international community, so that non-EU and globally acting organizations could also benefit from the outcomes.

The survey will be open until 31 August 2015, and the results of the subsequent analysis will be available by the end of September.  We invite all those involved in Citizen Science projects to take the survey in order to provide us with invaluable information and insight into Citizen Science projects and best practice.

Take the Survey! >> https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/CSDataManagement





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Connecting the dots: Integrated biodiversity data could be the key to a sustainable future

Biodiversity Observation Networks (BONs) have recently become a hot topic on the scene of natural sciences. But what is their role in advancing our knowledge of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services?

A new paper in the Biodiversity journal uses the European Biodiversity Observation Network (EU BON) as an example, to explain how they can fill in gaps and address existing barriers in knowledge through implementing an integrated biodiversity information framework.

Biodiversity supports essential ecosystem services that are key to human well-being. The ongoing global biodiversity decline is a threat to humans, particularly in developing countries.

The Aichi biodiversity targets of the United Nations' Strategic Plan for Biodiversity set ambitious goals for protecting biodiversity from further decline, but gaps in knowledge still sit in the way of monitoring progress, hindering the assessment of the current status and future trends of biodiversity.

There is an urgent need for a paradigm shift with regards to how biodiversity data are collected, stored, shared and streamlined in order to tackle many sustainable development challenges ahead.

Solving issues of biodiversity knowledge gaps and data reuse are a main focus of the EU BON project and provide a European contribution to GEO (Group on Earth Observations) and the wider Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

The EU BON project aims at addressing the need for a shift towards an integrative biodiversity information framework, starting from collection to the final interpretation and packaging of data.

At the centre of the EU BON's efforts is promoting and adopting existing standards of good practice and integrating data within a single biodiversity portal in order to make it discoverable, accessible and digestible. The aim of the portal is to collect and standardize existing data sources, as well as to work towards translating and visualizing the collected raw data to show trends and prognoses useful to policy and society.

"Biodiversity data, information and knowledge are diverse, dispersed and disparate. It is hard for a non-specialist to make sense of raw data and often separate data sets and gaps in data prevent effective policy reporting. This is why progress towards the Aichi targets is often hard to calculate, and where BONs can play a central role by working towards standardization to achieve true interoperability of data sets." explains the lead author Dr. Florian T. Wetzel,Museum für Naturkunde (MfN), Berlin.

"For advancing with the biodiversity challenge and the Aichi Targets globally, regional BONs are needed, and this is where EU BON attempts to make a difference for Europe" adds Dr. Christoph L. Häuser, EU BON coordinator and Deputy Director General at MfN, Berlin.

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Original Source:

Florian T. Wetzel, Hannu Saarenmaa, Eugenie Regan, Corinne S. Martin, Patricia Mergen, Larissa Smirnova, Éamonn Ó Tuama, Francisco A. García Camacho, Anke Hoffmann, Katrin Vohland & Christoph L. Häuser (2015): The roles and contributions of Biodiversity Observation Networks (BONs) in better tracking progress to 2020 biodiversity targets: a European case study, Biodiversity, DOI: 10.1080/14888386.2015.1075902





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Europe for GEOSS: EU BON attracts high level attention at the GEO XII Plenary in Mexico City

The GEO-XII Plenary and Ministerial Summit, as well as many associated meetings and events were hosted by the Mexican Government and took place in Mexico City from 9 to 13 November 2015.

The five-day event brought together GEO member countries and organizations, as well as scientists and stakeholders from across the world to debate the next decade for GEO, and to discuss the latest developments in Earth Observation technologies and applications. The GEO-XII Plenary approved the GEO Strategic Plan 2016-2025, and the Summit endorsed a Mexico City Declaration (see: http://www.earthobservations.org/geo12.php).


Mexican music and folklore performances at the hosted conference dinner at GEO-XII; Credit: Hannu Saarenmaa

EU BON participated at GEO-XII and was represented at the European Commission Stand "Europe for GEOSS" with a poster and a short video clip. A real highlight was the visit by the European Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, Carlos Moedas. During his short visit, the Commissioner took specific interest in the project and spent some time discussing EU BON's relevance with the coordinator and his staff.

   
The EC stand "Europe for GEOSS" at GEO-XII, and discussions on EU BON with Commissioner Carlos Moedas; Credits:  Jose Miguel Rubio Iglesias (left), Helmut Staudenrausch (right)

EU BON was also presented during a dedicated side event entitled "The GEO Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON): Enhancing Biodiversity Observations and Products for User Needs". The project’s key products were introduced by the project coordinator Christoph Häuser and the workpackage 2 leader Hannu Saarenmaa.





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Integrating Biodiversity Observations to Better Track the CBD 2020 Targets: A special issue

A new special issue titled "Connecting the Dots: Integrating Biodiversity Observations to Better Track the CBD 2020 Targets" looks at Biodiversity Observatios and the ways that can be integrated into the CBD 2020 targers, for better results in biodiversity conservation.

The issue, where a number of GEO BON partners are authors, explores a wide variety of aspects of Biodiveristy Observations, including data management, integration of in-stiu data, the roles and contricutions of BONs, contextualization with the UN's Sustainable Developmen Goals, and many more.

For more information and to see what is included in the Special Issue, click here.





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Empowering stakeholders: EU BON publishes its roundtable reports to share know-how

Engagement with relevant political authorities and other stakeholders is of crucial importance for a research project, making sure its objectives are in tune with the real-world problems and its results provide adapted solutions. Now EU BON shares the outcomes, lessons learned and conclusions from a series of three roundtable meetings designed to identify stakeholder needs and promote collaboration between science and policy.

The collection of EU BON stakeholder roundtable reports provides a summarized overview of shared experiences gained in the three different workshops that were organized from 2013-2016. With more than 100 participants from over 20 countries altogether, the roundtable reports provide insights and exchange of ideas on highly relevant issues concerning policy, citizen science and local/regional stakeholders and its networks.


Simplified workflow from data mobilization via processing to stakeholders from the practice; Credit: Vohland et al.

The roundtables seek to build up a stakeholder dialogue with exemplary sector-specific user communities to incorporate feedback loops for the products of EU BON, as well as to develop improvements of existing biodiversity data workflows. Being published via the innovative Research Ideas & Outcomes (RIO) journal conclusions, derived knowledge and results are now made available for other projects and the wider community to ensure their re-use.

The three roundtable papers report on conclusion on highly relevant issues related to biodiversity information and its open-access and availability, data workflows and integration of citizen science as well as science-policy interfaces.

"In each of the three detailed reports of the roundtables we outline its aims, intentions, as well as results and recommendations, that were drafted based on the roundtable discussions, world café sessions and working groups. Such project results are now published for the first time in the new series of EU BON results, featured in RIO, providing a unique new medium to share experiences, outcomes and conclusions," comments Dr. Katrin Vohland, Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin.

"The three reports were published as workshop report provided by the Research Ideas & Outcomes (RIO) journal. This allows readers to publish, distribute and computationally analyse myriads of workshop reports that otherwise often get forgotten or just lost," comments Prof. Lyubomir Penev, co-founder and publisher of RIO.

Original Sources:

Rationale of the roundtables

Wetzel F, Hoffmann A, Häuser C, Vohland K (2016) 1st EU BON Stakeholder Roundtable (Brussels, Belgium): Biodiversity and Requirements for Policy. Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e8600. doi: 10.3897/rio.2.e8600

Vohland K, Häuser C, Regan E, Hoffmann A, Wetzel F (2016) 2nd EU BON Stakeholder Roundtable (Berlin, Germany): How can a European biodiversity network support citizen science? Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e8616. doi: 10.3897/rio.2.e8616

Vohland K, Hoffmann A, Underwood E, Weatherdon L, Bonet F, Häuser C, Wetzel F (2016) 3rd EU BON Stakeholder Roundtable (Granada, Spain): Biodiversity data workflow from data mobilization to practice. Research Ideas and Outcomes 2: e8622. doi: 10.3897/rio.2.e8622

General synthesis and lessons learnt from the three EU BON stakeholder roundtables





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Presenting latest products and outcomes: a successful GEO XIII Plenary for EU BON

The GEO XIII Plenary in St. Petersburg  enjoyed a huge interest and support from many member governments, agencies and networks with around 400 registered participants this year.

Having taken place from 7-10 November 2016, the event featured a plenary, a number of side events and exhibition to give a chance to participants to meet up and discuss ideas and progress.

  
Left: The EU BON booth at the GEO exhibition - F. Wetzel, Ch. Häuser, H. Saarenmaa; Right: Director General  J.E. Smits and Christoph Häuser; Credits: F. Wetzel

On the sidelines of the Plenary the Director-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission, Robert-Jan Smits, personally informed himself in a conversation with Dr. Christoph Häuser, project lead of EU BON on the success and performance of the EU BON project.

At the GEO Exhibition 45 participating organizations and agencies presented their current achievements in the realm of earth observation products. EU BON was part of the European Commission’s area where GEO-related projects were shown. The project showcased its latest products as well as provided live demonstrations by Dr. Hannu Saarenmaa of the beta-version of the European Biodiversity Portal.

Taking place just before the plenary, around 20 side events gave an interesting overview of current GEO-related projects and topics. One of the side events was targeted on citizen science and EU-funded projects, where EU BON’s coordinator Christoph Häuser presented the developments of the network with regards to its citizen science activities, particularly its developments of mobile apps for collecting citizen science data.


Christoph Häuser presenting  citizen science related activities of EU BON; Credit: F. Wetzel. 

Learn more about the portal in the relevant policy brief, or test it at: http://biodiversity.eubon.eu/

For more information about EU BON products and research, you can also watch the project video:

 

 





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Biodiversity data, novel tools and services: EU BON presents key results at its Final Meeting

Taking place from 14 to 16 March 2017, the Final EU BON Meeting served as a platform to present key outputs from the FP7 EU-funded project EU BON " Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network" which aims to advance biodiversity knowledge by building a European gateway for biodiversity information and by integrating and harmonising a wide range of biodiversity data.

Hosted by the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels and at the stunning backdrop of Botanic Garden in Meise, EU BON partners met with stakeholders from research, European policy and citizen science to learn about the project's results and outputs and to discuss the future of a European Biodiversity Observation Network.


Credit: Donat Agosti

EU BON represents a joint effort of 31 partners from 15 European countries, Israel, the Philippines, Brazil and more than 30 associated partners. The project worked on the establishment and adoption of new data standards, the development of tools, the integration of advanced techniques for data analysis and the development of new approaches and strategies for future biodiversity monitoring and assessment.


Group Photo; Credit: D. Schmeller

At the Final Meeting participants had the opportunity to learn about and test products and services developed by project members during the period 2012-2017. These include a range of tools for data analysis, such as GeoCAT -- a tool that performs rapid geospatial analysis to ease the process of Red Listing taxa and AquaMaps -- a toolkit that models the distribution and makes predictions of where aquatic species occur naturally. Another group of tools -- the GBIF Integrated Toolkit and ARPHA-BioDiv facilitates the process of data sharing, integration and publishing.

Among the services presented, worthy of special mention is the EU BON Unified Taxonomic Information Service (UTIS) that allows the running of a federated search on multiple European taxonomic checklists by scientific name or vernacular name strings. These include the Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure (EU-Nomen), the European Nature Information System (EUNIS), the Catalogue of Life, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), the GBIF Checklist Bank and the Plazi Treatment Bank.

All these web applications are bound together under the umbrella of the EU BON European Biodiversity Portal, with highly relevant contributions to the aims of the Group on Earth Observation's Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON). Besides applied tools and software, the portal also serves as an online library for manuals, guidelines, factsheets, case studies, policy recommendations and other documents.

Learn more about these tools in our Final Brochure.

For live updates, follow EU BON on Twitter, or like us on Facebook. See the live Tweet feed from the meeting at #eubongm.

 

 





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EU BON featured in CORDIS News: New tools to increase the accuracy of biodiversity monitoring

A recent story, featured on CORDIS News, focuses on EU BON and its achievements. Based on a recent project's publication in ‘Nature – Scientific Reports’ and information from the project, the new item discusses important project outcomes, including the European Biodiversity Portal, and their contribution to drawing a more accurate picture of current biodiversity to aid efforts for sustainable governance of natural resources.

Here is a snippet from the news feature on CORDIS: 

A recent article published in the journal ‘Scientific Reports’ states, ‘Monitoring schemes provide an important source of information on biodiversity change, guiding further research, conservation assessment and planning.’ The article cites The European Biodiversity Portal, designed and implemented by the EU-funded EU BON project that offers researchers, policy-makers, and others interested in biodiversity, easy access to insights on trends and modelling techniques.

The project worked on the establishment and adoption of new data standards, the development of tools to enable collaborative research and the encouragement of citizen-scientists. As a result, EU BON, by building the European Biodiversity Observation Network, has created advanced techniques for data analysis along with new approaches for modelling and strategies for future biodiversity monitoring.

Read the full publication here.





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How Ecosystem and Biodiversity data and knowledge can support the GEO objectives: EU BON’s session at the European GEO Workshop

The 11th European Projects GEO Workshop took place between 19-21 June 2017, in Helsinki, Finland, bringing together European stakeholders interested in and actively contributing to the Global Earth Observations System of Systems (GEOSS).

Alongside the plenary (see presentations here), the conference featured 20 sessions looking at various aspects GEOSS, its objectives and their implementation.

Among those EU BON took part in a dedicated session titled ‘How Ecosystem and Biodiversity data and knowledge can support the GEO objectives’, alongside fellow projects and initiatives, and associated partners ECOPOTENTIAL, LTER-Europe, GLOBIS-B, EKLIPSE and ENEON.


Credit: F. Wetzel

The session aimed to inform about recent developments of relevant projects that focus on Ecosystems and Biodiversity and also outline how the generated data and knowledge can support the GEO objectives and inform relevant policies on a European and global scale.  

EU BON, as a now completed project, opened the session by presenting its major products in particular the European Biodiversity Portal and how current and future projects can build on the outcomes achieved.

Overall, the session gave the opportunity to learn about the different approaches of selected EU-projects that address the mobilization, integration and analysis of biodiversity and ecosystem data, their current achievements and existing barriers. Here are some of the Key Messages that emerged from the session: 

  • For biodiversity and ecosystem approaches, European level efforts are needed to achieve comprehensive data coverage and full open access, especially for in situ data integration.
  • Existing European-level data portals and information platforms need to be sustained and considered as integration points for national and local data hubs. 
  • Systematic approaches for biodiversity are needed, which means linking biotic and abiotic data and improving harmonization efforts for the whole data cycle/ workflows from data collection, analysis and dissemination for different disciplines (SBAs). 
  • Essential (Biodiversity) Variables (EBVs) are a key concept / framework especially for monitoring / long-term observations that should be applied for all available biodiversity/ecosystem data fields.
  • Use examples from existing projects and networks as successful blueprints for bottom-up/user-driven approaches in GEOSS that relate to knowledge and user needs at the local scale. 




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IALE 2013 European Congress - Changing European Landscapes: Landscape ecology, local to global

The IALE 2013 European Congress "Changing European Landscapes: Landscape ecology, local to global" will take place on 9-12 September 2013, in Manchester, UK. This major international event, organised by IALE UK and IALE Europe, will examine how and why European landscapes are changing and how landscape ecology can help us to plan for the future at local to global scales. It will consider local projects alongside international programmes and provide many opportunities for researchers, policy makers and practitioners to interact. The congress will have a European focus but we look forward to welcoming participants from around the world.

More information and how to register find here.

 





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E-seminar: Data Exchange for Biodiversity Conservation in Freshwater Ecosystems: Introducing the BioFresh Platform and Data Portal

The FP7 projects BioFresh and WaterDiss2.0 are pleased to announce the E-seminar "Data Exchange for Biodiversity Conservation in Freshwater Ecosystems: Introducing the BioFresh Platform and Data Portal". The E-seminar will take place on Thursday, November 28 from 14:00 to 15:00 CET.

It will be hosted on the seminar website (http://waterdiss.eu/eseminar-biofresh) where a link will be available for it.

The E-seminar will introduce the audience to the usage of the BioFresh Platform and Data Portal, in order to ensure a better understanding of the different components. Aaike De Wever, Science Officer of BioFresh, will explain which data and information are integrated and for which contributions BioFresh is looking. Participants are encouraged to join in for a live discussion via "Citrix go to Webinar".

If you want to participate in the e-seminar, you only need to send an email to evelyn.lukat@ecologic.eu. You will receive further information via mail. If you decide on participating later, you can also simply join the seminar by following the link provided on November 28th on this website.

A few important notes:

  • The e-seminar will be conducted in English
  • The video and the questions asked during the session will be available on the websites of the BioFresh data portal and this website.

Technical details on the E-seminar:

  • When clicking on the link, the application Citrix Go To Webinar will be downloaded. Nothing will be installed on your computer. However, please make sure that your computer is able to run java applications.
  • Please make sure that the sound system on your computer works. If your sound system does not work properly, you can also dial in via phone. Please check the dial-in number for your country on this website by November 28th.

 

 

 





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Citizens’ Observatories: Empowering European Society - Open Conference

The European Commission Directorate-General for Research & Innovation and the European Union-funded Citizens’ Observatories projects invite you to the conference "Citizens’ Observatories: Empowering European Society", to be held on 4th December 2014 at the Management Centre Europe, Brussels.
 
This one day conference will look at the role and opportunities for active citizen participation in environmental monitoring and policy making. The event will provide opportunities to engage with experts and practitioners working across a range of European citizen science initiatives and policy making bodies, and to find out more about the work of the five Citizens’ Observatory projects.
 
The event includes two main sessions for stimulating the discussion:
  • "Citizens Observatories and their value for decision making" - talks from the Commission, from EEA, from EPAs, from local authorities and also representatives from citizens, with their own views and experiences, followed by a round table with the speakers where we can discuss about the usefulness of Citizen Science in environmental policy (suitable scenarios for first implementations, possible ways of collaboration and channels of communication, fears and expectations of policy makers and also of citizens, benefits, market exploitation, etc). Seed questions will be fine-tuned in the upcoming weeks.
  • "Panel session on Challenges of Citizens’ Observatories" -  a second round table focused on challenges these initiatives are facing (sustainability, governance, data protection, big data, legitimacy of actions by scientists, etc.) both with researchers and decision makers. 
For more information, to register and see the agenda, pleae visit: http://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/CitObsEES2014

 

 





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Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change in Urban Areas and their Rural Surroundings: Linkages between science, policy and practice

The Europena Conference "Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change  in Urban Areas and their Rural Surroundings: Linkages between science, policy and practice" will take place from 17 to 19 November 2015 in Bonn, Germany.

The event is a joint European Conference held by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA) in co-operation with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) / German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv).

Climate change has significant impact on society and biodiversity in Europe. Urban inhabitants are most likely to experience climate change effects directly because currently 73 per cent of Europeans live in urban areas. Here, management of urban ecosystems offer sustainable and cost-effective solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation while contributing to human well-being.

This European conference will bring together experts from science, policy and practice to highlight and debate the importance of nature-based solutions to climate change in urban areas and their rural surroundings. Emphasize is given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits.

The conference is divided into three main areas (day 1: science, day 2: practice and implementation, day 3: policy and business), each of which will be opened by keynote speakers including:

  • Hans Bruyninckx (Executive Director European Environmental Agency, EEA)
  • Wilhelm Krull (Chair of the H2020 expert group on nature-based solutions and re-naturing cities, Secretary General Volkswagen Foundation)
  • Georgina Mace (University College London – UCL, Director of Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research)
  • Christine Wamsler (Lund University, Centre for Sustainability Studies)
  • Nataša Jazbinšek (Head of Department for Environmental Protection City of Ljubljana and Head of working group for European Green Capital programme 2016)
  • Wolfgang Teubner (ICLEI Regional Director for Europe)
  • Kurt Vandenberghe (Director for Climate action and resource efficiency at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation)
  • Chantal van Ham (IUCN – EU Programme Manager Nature Based Solutions)
  • Dirk Sijmons (Delft University of Technology)

Keynote speeches are complemented by plenary presentations given by leading experts in the fields of urban biodiversity, climate change, and socio-economic effects of nature-based solutions, interactive sessions and a poster exhibition.

Deadline for abstract submission is 24 July 2015 (abstract submission guidelines)

Registration:

Early bird registration deadline: 18 September 2015

Final registration deadline: 30 October 2015

For more information and to register please visit: http://www.ecbcc2015.com/








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A decadal view of biodiversity informatics: challenges and priorities





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Indicators of the impact of land use changes using large-scale birdsurveys: Land abandonment in a Mediterranean region




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Establishing macroecological trait datasets: digitalization, extrapolation, and validation of diet preferences in terrestrial mammals worldwide




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Scientific names of organisms: attribution, rights, and licensing





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Advancing species diversity estimate by remotely sensed proxies: A conceptual review





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Bridging the gap between biodiversity data and policy reporting needs: An Essential Biodiversity Variables perspective




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Indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators: a novel mechanism of tree species coexistence





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Streamlining the use of BOLD specimen data to record species distributions: a case study with ten Nearctic species of Microgastrinae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae)




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The roles and contributions of Biodiversity Observation Networks (BONs) in better tracking progress to 2020 biodiversity targets: a European case study




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Long-term monitoring data meet freshwater species distributionmodels: Lessons from an LTER-site




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Earlier breeding, lower success: does the spatial scale of climatic conditions matter in a migratory passerine bird?





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Standardized Assessment of Biodiversity Trends in Tropical Forest Protected Areas: The End Is Not in Sight




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Framing the concept of satellite remote sensing essential biodiversity variables: challenges and future directions




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Incorporating spatial autocorrelation in rarefaction methods: implications for ecologists and conservation biologists




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Assessing relative variable importance across different spatial scales: a two-dimensional wavelet analysis




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Tracking Progress Toward EU Biodiversity Strategy Targets: EU Policy Effects in Preserving its Common Farmland Birds




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Indicators of the effects of the urban greening on birds: the case of Barcelona




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Matches and mismatches between national and EU-wide priorities: Examining the Natura 2000 network in vertebrate species conservation




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Long-term monitoring data meet freshwater species distribution models: Lessons from an LTER-site




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Anticipating species distributions: handling sampling effort bias under a Bayesian framework.




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Potential exploitation of avian resources by fossil hominids: an overview from ethnographic and historical data










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Lucinda in the sky with diamonds: Lucinda Williams announces Beatles covers album ahead of New England shows

Williams also talks Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, and Trey Anastasio in advance of her shows in Medford, Portland, and Providence.

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