D4.3 Proposal draft of an integrated European biodiversity observation network with observation-to-policy-support workflows and suggestions to overcome bottlenecks

ARPHA Preprints, doi: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e210479

W. Daniel Kissling^‡, Tom Breeze^§, Camino Liquete^|, Anne Lyche Solheim^¶, Ian McCallum^#, Joachim Maes^¤, Tim Hirsch^«, Maria Lumbierres^‡, Roy Van Grunsven^», Pedro Beja^˄, Bruno Smets^˅, Cesar Capinha^¦, Ana Ceia-Hasse^ˀ, Néstor Fernández^ˁ, Francisco Moreira^₵, Jessi Junker^ℓ, Florian Leese^₰₰, Lluís Brotons^₱, Alejandra Morán Ordóñez^₳, Simon Potts^§, Joana Santana^₴, Jose Valdez^ˁ, Ingolf Kühn^₣₮₦, Marija Milanovic^₭₲, Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber^‽, Dimitrios Bormpoudakis^₩, Dani Villero^₸, Peter Haase^‡‡, Kristian Meissner^§§, Helge Bruelheide^||, Marcel Buchhorn^¶¶, Irene Calderon Sanou^##¤¤, Miguel Fernandez^««»», Anna Gamero^˄˄, Anne Gobin^˅˅¦¦, Irene Guerrero^ˀˀ, Ute Jandt^ˁˁˁ, Alena Klvaňová^₵₵, Marina Marei Viti^ˁ, Jannicke Moe^ℓℓ, Aletta Bonn^{₰₰₱₱₦}, Henrique Pereira^₳₳

‡ University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands§ University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom| European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy¶ Norsk institutt for vannforskning (NIVA), Oslo, Norway# IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria¤ European Commission, Brussels, Belgium« Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Secretariat, Copenhagen, Denmark» Dutch Butterfly Conservation, Wageningen, Netherlands˄ CIBIO-Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal˅ VITO NV, Mol, Belgium¦ CEG-IGOT,University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugalˀ University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugalˁ German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany₵ CIBIO-BIOPOLIS, Porto, Portugalℓ Re:wild, Austin, TX, United States of America₰ University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany₱ Centre Tecnològic Forestal de Catalunya, Solsona, Spain₳ University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland₴ BIOPOLIS-CIBIO/InBIO, Porto, Portugal₣ Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle, Germany₮ Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany₦ German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Leipzig, Germany₭ Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Halle (Saale), Germany₲ Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany‽ BOKU, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria₩ Harokopio University, Athens, Greece₸ Forest Science and Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTFC), Solsona, Spain‡‡ Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany§§ Finnish Enviroment Institute, Jyvaskyla, Finland|| Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany¶¶ VITO - Flemish Institute for Technological Research NV, Mol, Belgium## Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Leipzig, Germany¤¤ UMR EcoFoG, Kourou, French Guiana«« George Mason University, Fairfax, United States of America»» Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) / German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany˄˄ Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme, Prague, Czech Republic˅˅ VITO, Mol, Belgium¦¦ KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgiumˀˀ Joint Research Centre (JRC), Brussels, Belgiumˁˁ Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg, Halle, Germany₵₵ Czech Society for Ornithology, Praha 5, Czech Republicℓℓ Norwegian Institute for Water Reserach (NIVA), Oslo, Norway₰₰ Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research – UFZ, Leipzig, Germany₱₱ Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany₳₳ German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, Leipzig, Germany

Corresponding author: W. Daniel Kissling ( w.d.kissling@uva.nl )

© W. Daniel Kissling, Tom Breeze, Camino Liquete, Anne Lyche Solheim, Ian McCallum, Joachim Maes, Tim Hirsch, Maria Lumbierres, Roy Van Grunsven, Pedro Beja, Bruno Smets, Cesar Capinha, Ana Ceia-Hasse, Néstor Fernández, Francisco Moreira, Jessi Junker, Florian Leese, Lluís Brotons, Alejandra Morán Ordóñez, Simon Potts, Joana Santana, Jose Valdez, Ingolf Kühn, Marija Milanovic, Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber, Dimitrios Bormpoudakis, Dani Villero, Peter Haase, Kristian Meissner, Helge Bruelheide, Marcel Buchhorn, Irene Calderon Sanou, Miguel Fernandez, Anna Gamero, Anne Gobin, Irene Guerrero, Ute Jandt, Alena Klvaňová, Marina Marei Viti, Jannicke Moe, Aletta Bonn, Henrique Pereira.

This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Citation: Kissling WD, Breeze T, Liquete C, Lyche Solheim A, McCallum I, Maes J, Hirsch T, Lumbierres M, Van Grunsven R, Beja P, Smets B, Capinha C, Ceia-Hasse A, Fernández N, Moreira F, Junker J, Leese F, Brotons L, Morán Ordóñez A, Potts S, Santana J, Valdez J, Kühn I, Milanovic M, Schmidt-Kloiber A, Bormpoudakis D, Villero D, Haase P, Meissner K, Bruelheide H, Buchhorn M, Calderon Sanou I, Fernandez M, Gamero A, Gobin A, Guerrero I, Jandt U, Klvaňová A, Marei Viti M, Moe J, Bonn A, Pereira H (2026) D4.3 Proposal draft of an integrated European biodiversity observation network with observation-to-policy-support workflows and suggestions to overcome bottlenecks. ARPHA Preprints. https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e210479

Abstract

This deliverable provides recommendations for designing a European Biodiversity Observation Network. It synthesizes the current biodiversity monitoring landscape in Europe, describes the framework and methodology for a co-design approach, and identifies what should be monitored (terrestrial, freshwater and marine Essential Biodiversity Variables), how (monitoring methods and workflows for data integration and modelling), and why (policy relevance). It then provides 10 design recommendations, including suggestions for spatial sampling designs, sample sizes, filling of gaps, co-location, DNA-based methods, digital sensors, remote sensing, citizen science, data integration and modelling, and digital infrastructure. Finally, it estimates the economic costs of establishing and maintaining a European Biodiversity Observation Network by performing a comprehensive assessment of the staff and material costs for establishing and maintaining data collection, workflows and coordination for biodiversity monitoring in Europe.

Keywords

biodiversity, monitoring, policy, recommendations, Europe