DOI: 10.3897/rio.12.e193918

Authors: Erica Zaja, Will Brownlie, Rajabu Hamisi, Maja Arsic, Adelaide Asante, Hilary Barraclough, André Bationo, Martin Blackwell, Dana Cordell, James Elser, Oluwole Fatunbi, Kwame Frimpong, Elise Gallois, Enam Gbekor, Kailyn Harris-Gilliam, Philip Haygarth, Ludwig Hermann, Kenneth Irvine, Issy Lewis, Ning Liu, Vincent Logah, Kaushik Majumdar, Muneta Grace Manzeke-Kangara, Eric Mensah, Malika Mezeli, Michael Miyittah, Innocent Muhwezi, Frederick Otu-Larbi, Richard Padi, Kasper Reitzel, Seth Robinson, Collins Tay, Francis Tetteh, Louis Tetteh, Shamie Zingore, Bryan Spears

Abstract: Phosphorus sustains global food production and is, therefore, of crucial importance to human nutrition and health. However, its mismanagement can lead to water pollution and environmental degradation in addition to low crop yields. In many parts of sub-saharan Africa, phosphorus deficiency constrains agricultural productivity and exacerbates food insecurity. Despite these challenges, phosphorus remains a fragmented topic in global and African policy. To address these issues, the 8th Sustainable Phosphorus Summit (SPS8) was convened in Africa for the first time. SPS8 took place in Accra, Ghana, between 30th September and 3rd October 2025. The Summit was an international collaboration, with co-conveners from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – Ghana, the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), The UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology West Africa Office, Lancaster University and Rothamsted Research. In this paper, we give a detailed overview of the key messages and insights that emerged from highlight talks, lectures, working groups and field trips. We also discuss and reflect on the challenges of delivering an inclusive summit, from designing solutions to benefit-sharing. SPS8 demonstrates that inclusive, cross-sector knowledge-exchange events are crucial to support and enable phosphorus sustainability on the continent of Africa and globally and to enable the next generation of interdisciplinary phosphorus researchers.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e197166

Authors: Martin Jung, Maximilian Wolschlager, Louise O'Connor, Matea Osti, Carla Freund, Kyle J Brumm, Piero Visconti

Abstract: Ambitious commitments under the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, including protecting at least 30% of land area and restoring 20% of ecosystems, are an opportunity to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Achieving these objectives would benefit from coordinated, integrated and biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning approaches to identify where conservation and restoration actions will be most effective and resilient. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) provides such a framework, but its outputs are often complex and need to be translated into actionable and interpretable information for decision makers. Here in the context of the NaturaConnect project, we developed stand-alone policy support tools designed to bridge this gap between science, policy and practice, specifically tailored to the implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy in the terrestrial realm. Specifically, we developed two interactive platforms, described in this deliverable: NaturaConnector and PriorityCheck. Both tools are web-based and enable to visualise spatially explicit prioritisation outputs generated using the prioritizr R-package. We produced multiple spatial scenarios reflecting different objectives and planning assumptions, allowing exploration of trade-offs and synergies across different scenarios. NaturaConnector provides a web-based interface that enables users to explore our prioritisation outputs interactively and to better understand the implications of alternative planning strategies. It allows users to compare different scenarios, adjust planning criteria, and visualise how priorities shift under different objectives, assumptions, and implications in terms of performance across a range of ecological, geographic and socio-economic indicators. To facilitate uptake and dissemination, the platform also includes a link to downloadable infosheets for 39 countries and 10 biogeographic regions. The infosheets showcase consensus prioritization outputs as well as an assessment of the performance of the spatial planning solutions with some key takeaways specific to each country or geographic region. PriorityCheck is an online tool that enables users (stakeholders, practitioners, and experts) to engage directly with the prioritisation outputs, including querying the species and habitats composition at each site, and provide spatially explicit feedback to the research team on selected priority areas, regarding their implementation challenges, feasibility, and local relevance and value for conservation or restoration. Based on this spatially-explicit feedback entered by stakeholders and regional experts on PriorityCheck, we then further refined and improved the spatial prioritisation outputs.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e194246

Authors: Carla Stoyanova, Teodor Metodiev

Abstract: This document is a deliverable for the PollinERA project, funded under the European Union’s Horizon Europe (HE) Research and Innovation Action under grant agreement No. 101135005. The purpose of this document is to present a detailed Plan for the Exploitation and Dissemination of Results (PEDR) of the PollinERA project, along with a communication strategy (CS), based on the preliminary plans in Section 2.2 of the PollinERA proposal.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e194245

Authors: Michael Rubinigg

Abstract: This Data Management Plan (DMP), prepared as part of the deliverables of the EC REA (Grant Agreement 10135005) funded project “Understanding pesticide-pollinator interactions to support EU environmental risk assessment and policy” (PollinERA), represents a plan for data management agreed upon by the PollinERA consortium. This plan is in line with the policies of the consortium partner’s organisations, as defined by the organisation’s data management policies, and with the requirements of the sponsor, as defined in the Horizon Europe research and innovation funding programme.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e192871

Authors: Camille Venier-Cambron, Nuno Garcia, Anandi Sarita Namasivayam, Niek Scherpenhuijzen, Alex Levering, Peter Verburg, Marta Cimatti, Moreno Di Marco

Abstract: D5.2 Spatial data for land-use and climate scenarios including TEN-N options and constraints

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e192870

Authors: Martina Marei Viti, Henrique Miguel Pereira

Abstract: The implementation of the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) requires a robust monitoring framework capable of tracking biodiversity trends across its extension and evaluating the effectiveness of protection and management actions that the network entails. This report contributes to this objective by identifying optimal strategies for the spatial design of an EU-wide biodiversity monitoring network, evaluating alternative stratification frameworks, and assessing how existing monitoring infrastructures can be integrated into a TEN-N monitoring system. The report comprises three analytical components and a cross-cutting synthesis. Chapter 1 assesses how alternative spatial sampling designs and network sizes influence the performance of an ex novo EU-wide biodiversity monitoring. Results show that network size is the dominant determinant of monitoring performance, particularly for common species and habitats, with performance converging across sampling designs at very small and very large network sizes. However, stratified sampling consistently outperformed random and grid-based approaches at intermediate network sizes, offering higher efficiency by maximising representativeness for a given level of effort. The importance of spatial design increased markedly when focusing on rare species and habitats. In these cases, stratified sampling improved coverage by up to 10% compared to alternative designs, reflecting its ability to distribute sampling effort more evenly across environmental conditions where rare entities are more likely to occur. Even under high sampling effort, however, rare species remained substantially more difficult to capture than rare habitats, highlighting inherent limits of probabilistic designs for monitoring rare biodiversity. Beyond representativeness, Chapter 1 also shows that no sampling design fully captures the full range of interacting anthropogenic pressures relevant for trend attribution, although stratified designs perform best overall. Climate and land-use gradients were most readily represented, while pressures with highly localised patterns, such as biological invasions, were consistently underrepresented. Together, these findings indicate that a stratified core monitoring network provides the most efficient foundation for EU-wide monitoring, but should be complemented by targeted modules to adequately address rare entities and complex pressure gradients. Building on these results, Chapter 2 examines whether refining the definition of strata, rather than changing the allocation method, can further improve monitoring performance. Alternative stratification frameworks were tested, based on combinations of environmental conditions, land protection intensity and ecological connectivity. Results show that modifying the stratification framework does not substantially alter overall network performance, with environmental stratification remaining the best-performing option. However, integrating conservation-relevant layers into the stratification framework enables the monitoring system to more directly address TEN-N assessment needs, particularly by facilitating systematic comparisons across gradients of protection and ecological connectivity. The choice of stratification layers therefore represents a key design decision with important implications for TEN-N monitoring. Chapter 3 assesses how existing pan-European biodiversity monitoring schemes can support a future TEN-N monitoring network. While these schemes represent among the best extensive monitoring efforts across the European Union, spatial gaps remain, particularly in Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe, as well as strong representativeness gaps of rare habitats and species. The comparison of existing monitoring schemes with ex novo monitoring networks of sites distributed across environmental strata suggested that an ex novo network could achieve comparable results with substantially less monitoring effort and cost. However, strategic gap-filling and expansion of the existing network could address the monitoring needs of rare entities. These results reinforce the need for targeted monitoring modules to adequately address the monitoring needs of rare species. The synthesis presented in Chapter 4 integrates insights from across the research and outlines implications for TEN-N monitoring. Two key principles emerge as essential: Assessing TEN-N effectiveness requires monitoring across conservation efforts; Existing monitoring schemes provide a foundation but must be complemented by a core stratified network and targeted monitoring modules. Together, the results provide an evidence base for designing a representative TEN-N monitoring network. This report therefore offers practical guidance for the European Commission and Member States in developing an EU-wide biodiversity monitoring strategy that supports the implementation, evaluation, and long-term success of the Trans-European Nature Network.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.12.e176590

Authors: Beatrice Bock

Abstract: Fungi exhibit diverse trophic strategies, ranging from obligate symbiosis to saprotrophy, with some taxa capable of occupying multiple ecological roles. Manually identifying trophic versatility from literature is time-consuming and difficult to scale. Here, we present a pilot workflow that automates the classification of fungal trophic modes using transformer-based language models. A curated dataset of 56 fungal ecology abstracts was manually labelled as dual (occupying multiple trophic modes) or solo (restricted to one mode) and used to fine-tune four models: BioBERT, BERT-base-cased, BERT-base-uncased and BiodivBERT. Stratified 5-fold cross-validation revealed that BioBERT and BERT-base-cased performed equally well (~ 89% accuracy, balanced precision and recall), highlighting the importance of case sensitivity in taxonomic text. BiodivBERT and uncased BERT models underperformed, indicating that domain adaptation alone is not sufficient. This pilot study emphasises reproducibility, transparency and open data integration, offering a generalisable proof-of-concept for linking literature-derived ecological information to existing fungal trait databases such as FUNGuild and FungalTraits. All code and data are openly available to support reuse and scaling to larger datasets.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e181727

Authors: Alexandra-Maria Klein, Anda Adamsone-Fiskovica, Georgina Alins, Per Angelstam, Aurelie Belveze, Jordi Bosch, Tom Breeze, Richard Comont, Elise de Groot, Lynn Dicks, Anselm Rodrigo Dominguez, György Dudás, Lotta Fabricius Kristiansen, Mariia Fedoriak, Nicola Gallai, Michael Garratt, Mikelis Grivins, Christina Grozinger, Nigel Jenner, Georgios Kleftodimos, David Kleijn, Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki, Bodo Krauss, Sara Leonhardt, Julia Osterman, Annie Ouin, Amy Plowman, Simon Potts, Claus Rasmussen, Laura Roquer-Beni, Daniele Rossi, Maj Rundlöf, Oliver Schweiger, Henrik Smith, Jane Stout, Louis Sutter, Martin Thorsøe, George Vlontzos, Dimitry Wintermantel, Nina Kranke, Amibeth Thompson

Abstract: RestPoll is a transdisciplinary project aiming to provide society with tools to reverse wild insect pollinator declines and to position Europe as a global leader in pollinator restoration and set the future agenda for pollinator restoration worldwide. The RestPoll consortium combines the expertise of natural and social scientists, as well as representatives of NGOs, businesses and ministries. RestPoll - together with stakeholders ranging from individual land managers to public authorities - co-designs, evaluates and refines measures and cross-sectoral approaches to restore pollinators and their services. Central to RestPoll is the establishment of a Europe-wide network of pollinator restoration case-study areas with Living Labs, which are unique hubs for experimentation, demonstration and mutual learning at various spatial scales (field, farm, landscape, European scales), in landscapes dominated by intensively managed crops or grasslands. The RestPoll consortium explores, tests, evaluates and refines cross-sectoral pollinator restoration approaches to conserve biodiversity and to benefit nature and society. Our holistic approach also aims to engage in participatory planning and the development of new business models along the food value chain by engaging through newly-developed participatory approaches at diverse social, ecological and political scales. Learning outcomes are communicated to a diverse range of regional and European partners and collaborators, which allows for making a lasting impact beyond the end of the project.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e180864

Authors: Sara Si-Moussi, Marianne Tzivanopoulos, Gabrielle Deschamps, Maxime Hoareau, Julien Renaud, Rémi LEMAIRE-PATIN, Wilfried Thuiller

Abstract: This deliverable outlines the creation of high-resolution (1km²) distribution maps for species and habitats across Europe, crucial for biodiversity conservation, policy compliance, and ecosystem management. Employing advanced Species Distribution Models (SDMs) and Habitat Distribution Models (HDMs), the task addressed plants, vertebrates, invertebrates, and all EUNIS Level 3 habitats.Species distribution modeling involved machine learning algorithms, carefully selected environmental variables, and spatially comprehensive occurrence datasets from GBIF, EVA, and other databases. Ensemble modeling techniques, spatial block cross-validation, and pseudo-absence generation ensured robust, reliable predictions, validated with metrics like True Skill Statistic (TSS).Habitat modeling similarly utilized environmental predictors (climate, topography, hydrography, geology, soil properties) alongside vegetation plot data from EVA and additional regional databases. Multi-class classification and ensemble forecasting methods provided high-quality predictive habitat maps validated externally and through cross-validation.Current and future scenarios (2050) were developed under varying climate and land-use trajectories (SSP1-RCP2.6, SSP3-RCP7.0), incorporating model uncertainty and expert-informed constraints. These maps support targeted conservation planning, monitoring programs, and decision-making, guiding efforts to enhance Europe's protected area network and biodiversity management.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e180863

Authors: Jeremy Dertien, Nikolaj Poulsen, Emmanuel Oceguera Conchas, Aimara Planillo, Virgilio Hermoso, Ana Ceia Hasse, Francisco Moreira, Rafaela Schinegger, Florian Borgwardt, Georg Gruber, Francesca Cosentino, Luigi Maiorano, Andrea Sacchi, Luca Santini, Néstor Fernández

Abstract: This report presents European-level terrestrial and freshwater connectivity data combining structural and functional connectivity approaches to (1) prioritise ecological connectivity for all terrestrial vertebrates, (2) assess the structural connectivity of hundreds of European Nature Information System (EUNIS) habitat types, and (3) prioritise continental corridors in river and riparian ecosystems. We designed advanced workflows for large-scale connectivity assessments in Europe and produced information that can support conservation planning at multiple levels of governance.We combined omnidirectional circuit and graph-based models to prioritise ecological corridors for 953 different terrestrial vertebrate species categorised into 30 archetype groups. These functional connectivity outputs include raster and vector spatial information covering both continuous (wall-to-wall) connectivity data and discrete ecological corridors both at 1 km resolution. Results point to the importance of connectivity within key biogeographic regions and between large protected areas in mountainous areas with nearby smaller protected areas.We produced a consistent set of maps quantifying the structural connectivity of EUNIS terrestrial habitat types across Europe. We used a probability-weighted habitat fragmentation metric that extends the classical effective mesh size to incorporate continuous-field probabilities of habitat occurrence. These data include the structural connectivity of 232 different EUNIS habitat types at 100m resolution. Overall, forest habitat types were the most structurally well connected relative to the other habitat types like heathlands and grasslands.We followed a two-step process of structural connectivity and spatial prioritization methods to design a potential freshwater ecosystem corridor network. First, we estimated riparian and river structural connectivity and created a new database of continental freshwater barriers. Second, we identified freshwater corridors that would facilitate connectivity among protected areas and suitable habitat for all species, while minimising the number of longitudinal barriers that could compromise the functionality of the corridors. The identified barriers and riparian areas in poor condition could be the focus of future restoration efforts to maximise their freshwater connectivity and functionality.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e180508

Authors: Christopher John Topping, Noa Simon Delso, James Henty Williams, Johan Axelman

Abstract: EU chemical regulation remains slow, costly, and prone to “ecological surprises” such as unforeseen negative impacts, delayed neonicotinoid bans and ongoing pollinatordecline. Current approaches create silos, overlook cumulative impacts, and trap decisions in binary “safe/unsafe” categories.A systems-first, tools-second approach can deliver faster, cheaper, and more effective decisions by prioritising simulation and systems understanding before developing regulatory tools forEnvironmental Risk Assessment (ERA). Horizon Europe’s PollinERA project demonstrates how this can work in practice: building a prototype One Systemworkflow with interoperable data and models for pollinator risk assessment; an approach that can be expanded to other environmental domains.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e179513

Authors: Christopher John Topping, Johan Axelman

Abstract: A technical support document for the PollinERA Policy brief

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e176476

Authors: Tina Heger, Stella Berger, Jonathan Jeschke, Chris Kittel, Peter Kraker, A. Makower, Daniel Mietchen, Jens Nejstgaard, Maxi Schramm

Abstract: Water is vital for life on Earth, but aquatic environments worldwide are facing critical challenges that cause severe problems for biodiversity and human well-being. These challenges include, for example, water pollution, habitat degradation, escalating water and air temperatures, salinisation of freshwaters, ocean acidification and invasive species. Since these stressors interact in complex ways, developing predictions and mitigation measures is difficult. Mesocosm experiments, offering controlled, yet realistic settings, are crucial for understanding and mitigating the impact of various stressors and their combinations on aquatic ecosystems. Mesocom facilities are key Research Infrastructures (RI), as they bridge the gap between laboratory experiments and natural systems allowing studies of highly complex environments comparable to natural ecosystems, while still offering controlled and replicated settings not available in natural systems.The AQUACOSM-RI consortium, comprising over 60 individual state-of-the-art mesocosm facilities at 28 host institutions across Europe, has therefore been instrumental in advancing aquatic environmental research across climate zones including marine, brackish and freshwater ecosystems. In addition, the EU H2020-INFRAIA projects AQUACOSM (CORDIS No. 731065) and AQUACOSM-plus (CORDIS No. 871081, www.aquacosm.eu) have developed a virtual network beyond Europe of presently > 85 host institutions with > 120 aquatic mesocosm facilities around the world, www.mesocosm.org. However, the rich, yet disconnected resources in aquatic mesocosm-based experimental research and mitigation approaches need to be combined in a modern, visible and accessible way.The project AQUANAVI (Navigating Grand Challenges and their Mitigation using Aquatic Experimental RIs) aims to enhance existing efforts by creating an interactive atlas of aquatic mesocosm facilities and related mesocosm-based experimental research. Integrating data, publications, reports and information on mesocosm facility capacities generated by the AQUACOSM consortium and other mesocosm facilities in Europe and beyond, AQUANAVI will facilitate fast discovery of resources and unused potentials of available mesocosm facilities in a modern, visible and accessible way that is presently not available. Such a multidimensional tool is expected to enable novel collaborations and a much faster setup and execution of connected and/or distributed experiments and efficient development of environmental mitigation strategies. Built upon the AQUACOSM-RIs and their encompassing data and information repository as well as scientific and technical competence, while also leveraging related infrastructures like AnaEE, EMBRC, JERICO-RI and eLTER, AQUANAVI will provide a comprehensive resource platform to more effectively explore available resources for aquatic experimental research.AQUANAVI will bridge this wealth of scientific data, expertise and mesocosm facility information through Hi Knowledge, an innovative analysis and visualisation platform that merges Wikidata, Open Knowledge Maps,and Scholia. Hi Knowledge harnesses the semantic capabilities of Wikidata to rapidly construct a FAIR and open corpus for a domain, based on a sophisticated conceptual classification system. Subsequently, Hi Knowledge incorporates visualisation components from Open Knowledge Maps and Scholia, allowing researchers to smoothly navigate information using cutting-edge visualisation techniques, artificial intelligence and knowledge synthesis methods.Open and collaborative by design, AQUANAVI’s architecture will engage a broad range of research communities. By consolidating data and information from diverse RIs, the platform will leverage and enhance the AQUACOSM and related research infrastructures, securing the reusability and interoperability of existing data collections and better exploration of existing RIs in the future. Compliant with FAIR principles and EOSC requirements, AQUANAVI will ensure the long-term sustainability and openness of its resources, enriching both the ENVRI services portfolio and the broader scientific community. In summary, AQUANAVI will empower researchers and stakeholders to implement measures to mitigate the effects of climate change and other Grand Challenges facing aquatic environments, serving as a key resource within and beyond the European research area.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e176120

Authors: Christos Arvanitidis, Olga Ameixa, Alberto Basset, Eva Chatzinikolaou, Claudia Coman, Berta Companys, Francesco De Leo, Klaas Deneudt, Federico Drago, John Eriksson, Tiziana Ferrari, Teodor Georgiev, Giovanni Giuliano, Stefan Gruber, Jens Habermann, Katharina Heil, Tim Hubbard, Cristina Huertas Olivares, Georgios Kotoulas, Dimitris Koureas, Natalia Manola, Vanessa Marrocco, Nicolas Pade, Ana Portugal Melo, Antonello Provenzale, Fotis Psomopoulos, Niels Raes, Susie Robinson, Patrick Ruch, Dick Schaap, Adrian Stanica, Tassos Stavropoulos, Heliana Teixeira, Peter van Tienderen, Costas Tsigenopoulos, Robert Waterhouse, Giuseppe Aprea, Michel Boër, Ana Casino, Laurent Delauney, Jonathan Ewbank, Ana Lillebø, Michael Mirtl, Jana Pavlic-Zupanc, Lyubomir Penev, Jaume Piera, Paraskevi Pitta, Ingrid Puillat, David Richter, Diana Stepanyan, Anton Ussi, Jan Węsławski, Gabriela Zuquim

Abstract: The interdependence of human, animal, plant and ecosystem health necessitates systemic, cross-domain collaboration to address global challenges, such as emerging diseases, climate change and biodiversity severe change. Through the Crete Declaration, Europe’s (e-)infrastructures, organisations and projects that focus on the functioning of our biosphere commit to jointly advancing the One Health approach. In doing so, the signatories aim to strengthen Europe’s resilience and leadership through the sharing of data and expertise, the development of innovative solutions and the promotion of evidence-based policies.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e173693

Authors: Tom Breeze, W. Daniel Kissling, Maria Lumbierres, Joana Santana, Alejandra Morán-Ordóñez, Roy Van Grunsven, Tim Hirsch, Tree Robionson, Simon Potts, Ian McCallum, Ute Jandt, Cesar Capinha, Jessica Junker, Pavel Stoev, Camino Liquete, Henrique M. Pereira

Abstract: Although biodiversity monitoring costs are widely cited as a constraint, there have been very few assessments of these costs and even fewer studies have assessed the potential benefits of this monitoring. Here, we synthesise available evidence, alongside a comprehensive assessment of the costs of proposed biodiversity monitoring to explore the relative costs, benefits risks and opportunities in biodiversity monitoring. We find that the costs of biodiversity monitoring, €0.5bn-€3.6bn/year, are greatly outweighed by the combined economic benefits and opportunities arising from the availability of co-ordinated, high-quality data, which are estimated to be >€25.2bn/year.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e168765

Authors: Christos Arvanitidis, Boris Barov, Montserrat Gonzalez Ferreiro, Gabriela Zuquim, Declan Kirrane, Cristina Huertas Olivares, Federico Drago, Nicolas Pade, Alberto Basset, Klaas Deneudt, Dimitrios Koureas, Natalia Manola, Daniel Mietchen, Ana Casino, Lyubomir Penev, Yannis Ioannidis

Abstract: This white paper represents the collective perspectives of a network of legal entities based in Europe and with global interests, which includes biodiversity, ecology, and engineering communities, aiming to strengthen Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) efforts toward achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). With their combined expertise and through European initiatives such as the Research Infrastructures, the e-Infrastructures, the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), the Digital Twin projects and academic publishers, these communities provide a base for collaboration in strategically contributing to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets. Furthermore, these communities seek to forge an international alliance to further integrate biodiversity conservation into the UN Summit of the Future priorities and the post-SDG agenda.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e164067

Authors: Sara Klingenfuß, Manuel John, Tuulikki Halla, Theresa Klara Loch, Philipp Mack, Barbara Meyers, Ronja Mikoleit, Taru Peltola

Abstract: The forest understory plays a central role in ecological processes and human experiences of forests, yet it often remains overlooked in forest management and conservation. In this interdisciplinary workshop, researchers from Finland and Germany came together to explore the understory through multiple lenses—ecological, cultural, social, and sensory. The participants acknowledged and discussed diverse forms of knowledge related to the understory, from scientific to traditional and place-based, to better understand the many ways people relate to it. Through shared readings, discussion, and direct engagement in the forest, we reflected on how the understory shapes foraging practices, sense of place, human–nature relationships, and alternative forest economies. We discussed what it means to "know" the understory, who holds this knowledge, and how it influences forest governance. This report brings together the key themes, questions, and ideas that emerged, highlighting the understory not only as a biological layer, but as a space where ecological, cultural and political dimensions meet. In doing so, we aim to provoke rethinking dominant forest perspectives and encourage more inclusive and relational ways of valuing and managing European forests.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e165316

Authors: Quentin Groom, Tim Adriaens, Tom August, César Capinha, Ana Cardoso, Katharina Dehnen-Schmutz, Franz Essl, Alexandra Franklin, Marina Golivets, João Gonçalves, Louise Hendrickx, Dave Hodgson, Toke Høye, Philip Hulme, Sabrina Kumschick, Bernd Lenzner, Eva Malta-Pinto, Angeliki (F) Kelly Martinou, Sofie Meeus, Tom Myers, Nicolas Noé, Ana Novoa, Michael Pocock, Anna Poimala, Cristina Preda, Petr Pyšek, Lien Reyserhove, Laurentiu Rozylowicz, Anna Sapundzhieva, Cândida Vale, Joana Vicente, Nikol Yovcheva, Agnes Zolyomi, Helen Roy

Abstract: The overarching objective of OneSTOP is to pioneer an innovative and joined-up approach to biosecurity for terrestrial invasive alien species, strengthening the interconnections between animal, plant, human and environmental health. OneSTOP aims to harness current technologies and citizen science, while overcoming challenges posed by dispersed and fragmentary processes, policies, and knowledge, to deliver methods for identification, early detection and surveillance of invasive alien species. OneSTOP aims to achieve transformative results to minimise the introduction, establishment and spread of invasive alien species by integrating cutting-edge detection methods, underpinned by prioritisation and robust models, alongside stakeholder engagement to inform harmonised policies and facilitate knowledge exchange. The outcomes will be relevant for invasive alien species policy, noting the importance of enhancing collaboration and coordination across local, national, and regional scales, recognising that geographic boundaries do not confine the impact of these species. By adopting a holistic and interconnected approach, OneSTOP seeks to establish a strategy to achieve rapid and transformative progress in detecting, eradicating and controlling invasive alien animals and plants, ultimately contributing to a more secure and resilient environment. Throughout, OneSTOP is based upon the strategic actions recommended for integrated governance of biological invasions in the recently published IPBES Thematic assessment report on invasive alien species and their control (IPBES 2023).

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e159590

Authors: Alicia Kling, Julia Osterman, Tomasz Kiljanek, Dimitry Wintermantel

Abstract: Pesticide effect studies on pollinators focus predominantly on the Western honeybee, Apis mellifera, which is also the only species for which EU regulations require risk assessment. Reliance on A. mellifera as the only model species for pollinators has been widely criticized, as its life history traits may lead to differences in pesticide sensitivity and exposure compared to other species. Therefore, current guidelines by EFSA recommend testing also on bumblebees and solitary bees, which has been done in practice almost exclusively on the generalist species Bombus terrestris and Osmia bicornis. Oligolectic bee species remain largely overlooked, which is concerning as they have experienced greater range reductions than generalist species. In addition, pesticide risk to pollinators is typically assessed for individual compounds or products, even though in reality pollinators are exposed to a mixture of several pesticides where synergistic effects may occur.Here, we present a protocol for a semi-field experiment that assesses the effects of two pesticides and their combination on the oligolectic Osmia brevicornis and the generalist O. bicornis. Conducted as part of the EU project WildPosh, the experiment builds on laboratory studies investigating pesticide impacts on pollinator health and is designed to test the effects of realistic exposure levels. Specifically, the experiment, for which we detail the methodology here, tests the insecticide Mospilan SG (a.i. acetamiprid), the fungicide Folicur (a.i. tebuconazole), and their combination. The study follows a full-factorial design using 40 flight cages across four spray treatments—Mospilan SG, Folicur, their combination, and a negative control — with 10 cages per treatment. Adult bees of both species will be exposed to the spray treatments for a minimum of 7 days and various endpoints regarding fitness (i.e., survival and reproduction) as well as foraging behavior of the two species and pollination success will be assessed. The results of this experiment will provide information on whether the spray treatments differentially affect the generalist species O. bicornis and the closely related oligolectic species O. brevicornis, and on any interactions between the insecticide and the fungicide at realistic exposure levels.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e152859

Authors: Florencia Yannelli, Kristiina Visakorpi, Anni Arponen, Carlos Arnillas, Javiera Chinga Chamorro, Mariana Chiuffo, Sharon Collinge, Roger Cousens, Kadambari Devarajan, Ken Ehrlich, marilyn grell-brisk, Rebecca Kariuki, Heather Kharouba, Andrea Monica Ortiz, Ana Prado-Valladares, Helen Regan, Florian Schnabel, Bruno Soares, Gisela Stotz, Michael Williams, Marc W. Cadotte

Abstract: The sixth mass extinction and the ongoing biodiversity and climate crises demand urgent action from ecologists and environmental scientists (EESs). Despite their critical role in addressing these challenges, EESs face unclear professional responsibilities towards society, local communities and ecosystems. The 2024 ANdiNA workshop was held in Conguillío National Park in Chile, within Wallmapu the ancestral land of the Mapuche people. It gathered global EESs to explore the roles, obligations and accountability of professionals in this field. The discussions focused on the evolving responsibilities of EESs amidst the environmental crises, as well as the need for clearer frameworks to guide their actions.Key questions included the scope of EESs' professional activities, how their obligations should adapt during times of crisis and whether they should be held accountable for scientific mistakes that lead to negative societal outcomes. The workshop explored the potential for creating a codified framework, such as an oath or manifesto, to clarify EESs' professional responsibilities. Participants highlighted the importance of integrating financial, intellectual, ethical and institutional dimensions in defining these roles, particularly in how EESs engage with local communities and society.Emerging themes included the need for a shared framework to align EESs' actions, exemplified by the Conguillío Statement, which encourages collaboration, inclusivity and ethical engagement with communities, especially Indigenous ones. The workshop also emphasised the importance of solution-orientated, transformative research and advocacy, calling for a shift in how EESs approach their roles as agents of change. By critically reflecting on their responsibilities, the workshop provided a foundation for re-imagining the role of EESs in the face of global environmental crises, urging systemic, collaborative approaches to safeguarding both nature and humanity.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e156054

Authors: Mihael Ichim, Ruxandra Crețu, Valentin Grigoras, Madalina Popa, Ancuța Raclariu-Manolică, Camelia Stefanache

Abstract: Herbal food supplements produced from medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) are becoming increasingly popular to complement synthetic pharmaceuticals. This category of products is regulated under more lenient food product regulations rather than the stringent rules applicable to medicines. The effectiveness and safety of these products rely on various factors, including the varying phytochemical composition of the original plant material, potential adulteration, substitution and contamination from biological and chemical sources. The SAFEMAPS scientific research project aims to provide integrated analytical solutions that enhance the compliance and quality of food supplements derived from aromatic and medicinal plants. This project seeks to improve the safe use of these products by consumers, while promoting the sustainable exploitation of plant biodiversity. Within this project, an experimental model will be developed to assess the identity, authenticity, traceability and quality of herbal food supplements. This model includes analytical solutions that integrate phytochemical and molecular genetic analyses. The proposed solutions will prioritise the needs of the food supplements industry, particularly regarding the quality and compliance of herbal products sold in Romania and across the European single market. These solutions will also tackle various aspects of the supply chain, including growers or collectors of medicinal and aromatic plants, processors, importers and final consumers.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e156185

Authors: Denis Michez, Michel Bocquet, Philippe Bulet, Marie-Pierre Chauzat, Pilar De la Rúa, Reet Karise, Tomasz Kiljanek, Alexandra Klein, Marion Laurent, Elli Leadbeater, Marika Mänd, Anne-Claire Martel, Teodor Metodiev, Marija Miličić, Julia Osterman, Robert Paxton, Simon Potts, Sara Reverte, Marie-Pierre Rivière, Oliver Schweiger, Deepa Senapathi, Olga Tcheremenskaia, Simone Tosi, Ante Vujic, Dimitry Wintermantel, Mark Brown

Abstract: Wild fauna and flora are facing variable and challenging environmental disturbances. One of the animal groups that is most impacted by this, concerns pollinators. Pollinators face multiple threats, but the spread of anthropogenic chemicals (i.e. pesticides) form a major potential driver of these threats. WildPosh is a multi-actor, transdisciplinary project whose overarching mission and ambition are to significantly improve the evaluation of risk to pesticide exposure of wild pollinators, and enhance the sustainable health of pollinators and pollination services in Europe. As chemical exposure varies geographically, across cropping systems, inside the crop system and among pollinators, we will characterise exposure by doing fieldwork in 4 countries representing the four main climatic European regions, Mediterranean, Atlantic, Continental and Boreal climate in Germany, England, Estonia and Spain. We will also develop experiments in controlled conditions on different species of bees, syrphid flies, moths and butterflies, and collect in silico data on their traits and on toxicity of pesticides. With WildPosh, we aim to achieve the following objectives:1. Determining the real-world agrochemical exposure profile of wild pollinators at landscape level, within and among sites;2. Using integrated and controlled laboratory and semi-field experiments to characterise causal relationships between pesticides and pollinator health;3. Building an open database on pollinator traits/distribution and chemicals to define exposure and toxicity scenarios by developing databases on ecological traits and the spatial distribution of pollinators in relation to their potential exposure to pesticide;4. Proposing integrated systems-based risk assessment tools for risk assessment for wild pollinators; and5. Driving policy and practice through interactive innovation, meeting the need for monitoring tools, novel and innovative screening protocols for practice and policymaker use.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e155364

Authors: Evelyn Underwood, Gabrielle Aubert, Daniel Veríssimo

Abstract: This factsheet series describes the available sources of funding for the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) and characterises their relevance to the costs involved in setting up the network. Each factsheet outlines the relative strengths and limitations of each source of funding or finance in relation to protected areas and connectivity projects. The review looks at both public funding through EU sources and private finance options.Public funding opportunities are available for ecological connectivity, but lack of post-project funding as well as protected area under-resourcing are key challenges. EU funds are often still underdelivering on funding for biodiversity and there are bottlenecks to access to some EU funding opportunities. The suggestions for private finance instruments vary from proven mechanisms such as the “user pays-principle" applied to protected areas, to conceptual instruments in initial stages of development such as resilience bonds. Even though private finance is still in its early stages, it has the potential to considerably scale-up the finance available for nature in Europe. Land management tools, such as strategic and targeted use of conservation easements, land banks, habitat banks, and legal compensation obligations, can be used to repurpose land for nature goals, including the creation of ecological corridors. These tools are being increasingly used for ecological connectivity, but the current small-scale and fragmented initiatives should increase.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.11.e140548

Authors: Florencia A. Yannelli, Wayne Dawson, Mark van Kleunen, Jonathan M. Jeschke, Tina Heger

Abstract: In this contribution of the Hypothesis Description series, we provide an overview of one of the longest-standing hypotheses in invasion science: Darwin's naturalisation hypothesis. We present a brief summary of past definitions and propose the revised definition “high phylogenetic distance between non-native species and the recipient community increases invasion success”. This formulation follows the basic form ‘subject – relationship – object’, enabling clarity for future research and computational applications in invasion biology. We also provide formalised definitions for previous formulations of the hypothesis and identify both related and opposite hypotheses to Darwin’s naturalisation hypothesis.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e134825

Authors: Tom August, Mario Balzan, Paul Bodesheim, Gunnar Brehm, Lisette Cantú-Salazar, Sílvia Castro, Joseph Chipperfield, Guillaume Ghisbain, Alba Gomez-Segura, Jérémie Goulnik, Quentin Groom, Laurens Hogeweg, Chantal Huijbers, Andreas Kamilaris, Karolis Kazlauskis, Wouter Koch, Dimitri Korsch, João Loureiro, Youri Martin, Angeliki Martinou, Kent McFarland, Xavier Mestdagh, Denis Michez, Charlie Outhwaite, Luca Pegoraro, Nadja Pernat, Lars Pettersson, Pavel Pipek, Cristina Preda, David Rolnick, Tobias Roth, David Roy, Helen Roy, Veljo Runnel, Martina Sasic, Dmitry Schigel, Julie Sheard, Cecilie Svenningsen, Heliana Teixeira, Nicolas Titeux, Thomas Tscheulin, Elli Tzirkalli, Marijn van der Velde, Roel van Klink, Nicolas Vereecken, Sarah Vray, Toke Thomas Høye

Abstract: The InsectAI COST action will support insect monitoring and conservation at the national and continental scale in order to understand and counteract widespread insect declines. The Action will bring together a critical mass of researchers and stakeholders in image-based insect AI technologies to direct and drive the research agenda, build research capacity across Europe and support innovation and application.There is mounting evidence that populations of insects around the world are in sharp decline. Understanding trends in species and their drivers is key to knowing the size of the challenge, its causes and how to address it. To identify solutions that lead to sustainable biodiversity alongside economic prosperity, insect monitoring should be efficient and provide standardised and frequently updated status indicators to guide conservation actions.The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 identifies the critical challenge of delivering standardised information about the state of nature and image-based insect AI can contribute to this. Specifically, the EU Nature Restoration Law will likely set binding targets for the high resolution data that cameras can provide. Thus, outputs of the Action will contribute directly to EU policies implementation, where biodiversity monitoring is considered a key component.The InsectAI COST Action will organise workshops, conferences, short-term scientific missions, hackathons, design-sprints and much more, across four Working Groups. These groups will address how image-based insect AI technologies can best address Societal Needs, support innovation in Image Collection hardware, create standardised approaches for Image Processing and develop novel Data Analysis and Integration methods for turning data into actionable insights.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e142876

Authors: Laetitia Navarro, Francesca Cosentino, Virgilio Hermoso, Luigi Maiorano, Maria Paniw, Eloy Revilla, Andrea Sacchi, Luca Santini, Zulima Tablado, Wilfried Thuiller

Abstract: This report presents an overview of data identification and documentation related to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the associated drivers, pressures, and response mechanisms. While not systematic nor exhaustive, our effort of data identification and documentation allowed us to describe more than 100 datasets and databases on European biodiversity (most datasets), ecosystem services, the drivers and pressures affecting them, and the mechanisms put in place to address these. These datasets represent nearly 2000 variables and metrics that can be used directly by researchers, land managers and decision-makers, for example for spatial planning in conservation or for further integration into biodiversity and ecosystem services models.Moreover, we also evaluate the completeness of biodiversity data (occurrence, trait and biotic interactions) in Europe across four terrestrial vertebrate classes, and assess potential drivers of data completeness. Despite Europe being one of the richest continents for biodiversity data globally, there are substantial data gaps in species distribution, trait, and species interactions, particularly in Eastern Europe, and for reptiles and amphibians. Results highlight how this heterogeneity in data availability is strongly associated with socioeconomic factors.We found that freshwater systems, data on ecosystem functions and population abundances are overall still under-represented in large-scale biodiversity data repositories and catalogues such as the ones that we consulted to build our metadatabase. In contrast, most of the metrics identified can be classified as species traits (both functional and life-history traits) although those also largely related to static data. By design, most of the datasets that we describe are openly available and easily accessible. Nevertheless, they also vary greatly in formats and standardization efforts which would impair a smooth integration into open workflows that could support the wider adoption of the tools that projects such as NaturaConnect could develop.Moreover, knowledge gaps are unevenly distributed within the European continent showing a strong taxonomic but also geographic bias. Amphibian and reptile data are strongly under-sampled compared to mammals and birds considering the species distribution (Wallacean shortfall), biological traits (Raunkiæran shortfall), and trophic interactions data (Eltonian shortfall).Some general recommendations in the view of these results are: i) there is a need to promote the publication of open protocols that describe in a standardized way the inputs and outputs of models used for decision-making and research in biodiversity conservation and that would limit the risk for redundancy, overestimations and circularity when integrating several datasets from various sources and disciplines; and ii) priority areas for data collection are located in southern and eastern Europe, which are strongly under-sampled compared to central and northern Europe (e.g., France, United Kingdom). Addressing these issues is crucial for advancing biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service management across Europe.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e140771

Authors: Martina Marei Viti, Miguel Fernandez, Rafaela Schinegger, Carina Seliger, Georg Gruber, Florian Borgwardt, Hildegard Meyer, Irene Lucius, Heini Kujala, Maria Hällfors, Risto Heikkinen, Thiago Cavalcante, Aino-Maija Määttänen, Marie-Caroline Prima, Sara Si-Moussi, Marianne Tzivanopoulos, Gabrielle Deschamps, Florian Barnier, Wilfried Thuiller, Miguel Araújo, Bárbara Pais, Francisco Moreira, Zulima Tablado, Marcello D'Amico, Sanne Evers, Virgilio Hermoso, Laetitia Navarro, Maria Paniw, Eloy Revilla, Dagmar Haase, Manuel Wolff, Sebastian Sebastian Scheuer, Peer von Döhren, Banjamin Labohm, Piero Visconti, Henrique Pereira

Abstract: This milestone report compiles mid-term findings from the six case studies of the NaturaConnect project, each serving as a critical testing ground to understand the practical implications of TEN-N across diverse environmental and socio-political contexts and different spatial scales. These mid-term reports represent a starting point for identifying commonalities and challenges among case studies, offering guidance on the design and implementation of TEN-N.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e129578

Authors: Zoe Ryan, Emily Clark, Beatrice Cundiff, Joslyn Nichols, Maya Mahoney, Nkosi Evans, Thomas Campbell, Danny Kreider, Matt von Konrat

Abstract: Over the last decade, access to global data has become increasingly critical for research, allowing insights into diverse biological, environmental and societal questions at a macro scale. Digitisation has greatly enhanced the use of herbarium data in the analysis of species distributions and ecological niche modelling. Yet, sources on modelling and mapping methodology using open-source software is greatly lacking for beginners. We have created a replicable and thorough tutorial to visualise species occurrence data and exploratory analysis that was developed by undergraduates with broad backgrounds and levels of experience. This tutorial integrates the open-source programmes QGIS, MaxEnt and R to develop distribution maps, using bryophytes as a case study, to promote the accessibility of open-source software and remote access learning. This tutorial has already set the foundation for further research into distribution modelling of rare Illinois bryophytes to better understand the potential impact of climate change.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e139236

Authors: Joana Bores, Hildegard Meyer, Evelyn Underwood, Mila Sirychenko, Wouter Langout, Peer von Döhren, Daniel Veríssimo, Balázs Horváth, Kenny Meganck, Alina Blaga, Måns Ingvarsson, Gabrielle Aubert, Barbara Herrero, Matea Osti, Anouk Puymartin

Abstract: The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss besides other through the creation of the Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N). This report, part of the NaturaConnect project, presents a comprehensive review of governance frameworks and land-use policies across European Union member states aimed at supporting the effective implementation of TEN-N. Using the Political Economy Analysis (PEA) framework, the report evaluates the economic, political, and social factors influencing policy reforms. It identifies key governance challenges such as weak regulations, unsustainable land use, and limited conflict management, alongside existing ecological connectivity frameworks. Data was gathered through literature reviews, interviews, surveys, and case studies from Finland, France, Portugal, Doñana in Spain, Halle-Leipzig in Germany, and countries in the Danube-Carpathian region.Our findings reveal that while many countries have national strategies for ecological connectivity, legal gaps and poor implementation persist, impeding progress. However, successful practices from countries like Germany and Portugal offer governance models. Furthermore, the report highlights opportunities to strengthen ecological connectivity through improved public funding mechanisms, private financing, and targeted interventions for regulatory reform, stakeholder engagement, and sustainable land use.This report provides valuable insights into the pathways of change and interventions necessary to enhance ecological connectivity and the role of Green and Blue Infrastructure in achieving biodiversity goals. The outcomes of this study are pivotal for shaping the future of European biodiversity conservation efforts and guiding the effective planning and governance of TEN-N.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e138574

Authors: Martin Jung, Marco Davoli, Thiago Cavalcante, Louise O'Connor, Alessandra D'Alessio, Mata Cimatti, Michela Pacifici, Jutta Beher, Piero Visconti, Moreno Di Marco, Heini Kujala

Abstract: The expansion of area-based conservation measures, such as protection and restoration efforts, as well as the design of multi-functional green and blue infrastructure, are widely seen as instrumental in halting or reversing further biodiversity decline. Europe has a long history of protection for biodiversity such as through the Natura 2000 program, however there still remain several gaps in sufficiently conserving the various aspects of biodiversity (e.g. species, ecosystems, functions & services) across Europe. Given the legal, political and societal challenges in negotiating the expansion of any new areas, it is key that these are done in strategic way and make use of best-available data to identify which areas would have the highest potential to contribute meaningfully to the conservation of biodiversity. Methods from systematic conservation planning (SCP) can be used to identify where such areas could be located under various assumptions and future narratives and can help to contribute to the design of a Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N). In this report we 1) review previous SCP applications at various spatial and temporal grains across Europe and guiding principles for identifying conservation area expansions, 2) outline a methodology building on Favourable Reference Values (FRVs) to quantitatively identify the level of ambition for ensuring the long-term persistence of species of conservation priority, 3) describe a way to account for resilience towards future climates so as to ensure that protected areas play their role now and in the future, 4) describe how different parameters and datasets can be robustly integrated in a SCP problem formulation so as to identify where to best conserve, restore or manage European landscapes across different variants. By doing so this report provides a methodological basis on how to plan for a more coherent pan-European wide TEN-N. The TEN-N variants can inform on areas with high potential for local implementation, opportunities for cross-border conservation collaborations, or regions where future funding for conservation and restoration could be allocated across European member states. Furthermore, the TEN-N variants will be closely inspired by European policy targets and definitions and can thus serve as feasibility assessment of European Biodiversity policies under different scenarios.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e133454

Authors: Yann Hautier, Kathryn Barry, Mariet Hefting, Marijke van Kuijk, Edwin Pos, Betty Verduyn, Rola Johannes, George Kowalchuk, Merel Soons

Abstract: Extreme climate events such as floods and droughts are becoming increasingly frequent and intense across the world. Future climate scenarios predict both an increase in individual extreme events, as well as chronic changes in climatic seasonality. Yet, the combined and relative effects of these pressures on ecosystems remain unknown. Concurrently, human-induced ecological disruption is accelerating species extinction rates, which are estimated to be 100 to 1000 times greater than pre-human levels. This is alarming as greater biological diversity is thought to buffer ecosystem functioning against extreme climate events, thereby safeguarding the provisioning of essential ecological services that contribute to human well-being. However, how and to what extent biodiversity buffers ecosystems against climate variability remains unclear. We recently constructed experimental grassland communities in a mesocosm-based field design representing a realistic gradient of plant diversity. Both extreme events (drought and flood) and a change in seasonality of precipitation are manipulated in a full factorial design to quantify the effects of future seasonal shifts and extremes in precipitation. We will: 1) determine to what extent higher biological diversity ensures that grasslands can continue to provide multiple ecosystem services even in the context of climate change and 2) unravel the fundamental mechanisms by which this is achieved including species asynchrony and positive species interactions. Results of our experimental approach will advance our understanding of the buffering potential of plant diversity and contribute to the development of strategies for sustainable service provisioning of our ecosystems in the face of climate change.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e131405

Authors: H. Michael G. Lattorff

Abstract: Pollination of crop plants is highly valued as it contributes to productivity in terms of quality and quantity. Globally, pollination is valued at more than USD 500 billion. The primary pollinators are insects and amongst them, bees. The Western honeybee (Apis mellifera) is a very generalist pollinator that is managed. Honeybees contribute up to 50% of the pollination of various crop plants. Pollinators are at risk due to land-use/land-cover changes and agricultural pesticide input.In a recently published study, research on honeybees in runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus L.) in Poland is presented. In one part of the study, the actual foraging of honeybees in beans is recorded, along with the time of day, abundance and time spent on flowers. The second part of the study investigated several apiaries concerning the potential poisoning of bees by means of pesticide exposure. The authors recorded the fitness of colonies, flight activity, behaviour, productivity and pesticide residues in bees.The manuscript, unfortunately, has several scientific flaws that are outlined in this commentary. These flaws, particularly those related to experimental planning and data collection and analysis, have the potential to compromise the conservation of pollinators. The misguidance in the implementation of measures to protect pollinators and pollination services is a cause for concern and should motivate us to address these issues.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e129357

Authors: Christiane Werner, Ulrike Wallrabe, Andreas Christen, Laura Comella, Carsten Dormann, Anna Göritz, Rüdiger Grote, Simon Haberstroh, Mazin Jouda, Ralf Kiese, Barbara Koch, Jan Korvink, Jürgen Kreuzwieser, Friederike Lang, Julian Müller, Oswald Prucker, Alexander Reiterer, Jürgen Rühe, Stefan Rupitsch, Helmer Schack-Kirchner, Katrin Schmitt, Nina Stobbe, Markus Weiler, Peter Woias, Jürgen Wöllenstein

Abstract: Global climate change threatens ecosystem functioning worldwide. Forest ecosystems are particularly important for carbon sequestration, thereby buffering climate change and providing socio-economic services. However, recurrent stresses, such as heat waves, droughts and floods can affect forests with potential cascading effects on their carbon sink capacity, drought resilience and sustainability. Knowledge about the stress impact on the multitude of processes driving soil-plant-atmosphere interactions within these complex forest systems is widely lacking and uncertainty about future changes extremely high. Thus, forecasting forest response to climate change will require a dramatically improved process understanding of carbon and water cycling across various temporal (minutes to seasons) and spatial (leaf to ecosystem) scales covering atmosphere, biosphere, pedosphere and hydrosphere components.Many relevant processes controlling carbon and water exchange occur at small scales (e.g. rhizosphere, single leaf) with a high spatial and temporal variability, which is poorly constrained. However, interactions and feedback loops can be key players that amplify or dampen a system’s response to stress. Moreover, spatial and temporal scaling rules for these non-linear processes in structurally and functionally diverse ecosystems are unknown. Legacy effects, for example, altered response after previous stress and retarded recovery of forests after climate extremes, are not captured in state-of-the-art models. Currently, we are lacking the appropriate and interconnected measurement, data assimilation and modelling tools allowing for a comprehensive, real-time quantification of key processes at high spatio-temporal coverage in heterogeneous environments. Moreover, since climate impacts are highly unpredictable with respect to timing and location, future research will require novel mobile, easily deployable and cost-efficient approaches. ECOSENSE, therefore, assembles expertise from environmental and engineering sciences, both being excellently paired at the University of Freiburg.Our interdisciplinary research project will investigate all relevant scales in a next-generation ecosystem research assessment (ECOSENSE). Our vision is to detect and forecast critical changes in ecosystem functioning, based on the understanding of hierarchical process interaction. In the first phase, ECOSENSE will explore these process interactions by investigating pools and fluxes of water and carbon, i.e. CO2 exchange, isotope discrimination and volatile organic compounds (VOC), as well as stress indicators by remotely and in situ sensed chlorophyll fluorescence.To address these research tasks, ECOSENSE will develop, implement and test a distributed, autonomous, intelligent sensor network, based on novel microsensors tailored to the specific needs in remote and harsh forest environments. They will measure the spatio-temporal dynamics of ecosystem pools and fluxes in a naturally complex structured forest system with minimal physiological impact. Measured data will be transferred in real-time into a sophisticated database, which will be explored for process analysis, conducted by Artificial Intelligence and close to real-time process-based ecosystem models for now- and forecasting applications. Thereby, ECOSENSE will: i) break new ground for integrative ecosystem research by identifying hierarchies and interactions of abiotic and physiological processes of forest carbon and water exchange, ii) provide a profound understanding of complex ecosystem responses to environmental stressors and iii) enable the prediction of process-based alterations in ecosystem functioning and sustainability.Our novel ECOSENSE toolkit, tested and validated in controlled climate extreme experiments and our ECOSENSE Forest, will open new horizons for rapid assessment in vast and remote ecosystems. Thereby, ECOSENSE will allow for a unique avenue of data acquisition and, consequently, for unprecedented scale-crossing ecosystem understanding and modelling.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e124579

Authors: Taimur Khan, Ahmed El-Gabbas, Marina Golivets, Allan Souza, Julian Gordillo, Dylan Kierans, Ingolf Kühn

Abstract: Invasive alien species (IAS) threaten biodiversity and human well-being. These threats may increase in the future, necessitating accurate projections of potential locations and the extent of invasions. The main aim of the IAS prototype Digital Twin (IAS pDT) is to dynamically project the level of plant invasion at habitat level across Europe under current and future climates using joint species distribution models. The pDT detects updates in data sources and versions of the datasets and model outputs, implementing the FAIR principles. The pDT’s outputs will be available via an interactive dashboard. All input and output data will be freely accessible.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e125167

Authors: Jürgen Groeneveld, Tomas Martinovic, Tuomas Rossi, Ondrej Salamon, Kata Sara-aho, Volker Grimm

Abstract: Honey bees are vital to human well-being and are under multiple stresses. We need to be able to assess the viability and productivity of honey bee colonies in different landscapes and under different management and climate-change scenarios. We have developed a prototype digital twin, HONEYBEE-pDT, based on the BEEHAVE model, which simulates foraging, population dynamics and Varroa mite infestation of a single honey bee colony. The main input data are land-cover maps and daily weather data. We have developed the pDT for simulating large areas and have tested it for the whole of Germany. We have also developed a web-based GUI that users can use to run the pDT for specific sites. Hive weight data from hundreds of hives will be used for calibration and validation.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.10.e125192

Authors: Desalegn Chala, Erik Kusch, Claus Weiland, Carrie Andrew, Jonas Grieb, Tuomas Rossi, Tomas Martinovic, Dag Endresen

Abstract: Amidst population growth and climate-driven crop stresses such as drought, extreme weather, fungal and insect pests, as well as various crop diseases, ensuring food security demands innovative strategies. Crop wild relatives (CWR), wild plants in the same genus as the crop as well as wild populations belonging to the same species as the crop, offer novel genetic resources crucial for enhancing crop resilience against these stress factors. Here, we introduce a prototype digital twin (pDT) to aid in searching and utilising CWR genetic resources. Using the MoDGP (Modelling the Germplasm of Interest) tool, the pDT enables mapping geographic areas where stress-tolerant CWR populations can be found. With its graphical user interface, it offers flexibility in selecting genetic resources from CWR tailored to enhance resilience of various crops against diverse stress factors.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e129021

Authors: Francisco Moreira, Filipe S. Dias, Jeremy Dertien, Ana Ceia Hasse, Luis Borda-de-Água, Silvia Carvalho, Miguel Porto, Francesca Cosentino, Luigi Maiorano, Andrea Sacchi, Luca Santini, Florian Borgwardt, Georg Gruber, Nikolaj Poulsen, Rafaela Schinegger, Carina Seliger, Néstor Fernández

Abstract: Ecological connectivity is key to maintaining a coherent and resilient network of protected areas in the EU. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 has identified the unhindered movement of species, nutrients and ecological processes across connected landscapes as a key feature of a coherent Trans-European Nature Network (TEN-N) of protected and conserved areas. However, to date, streamlined guidance on planning for and implementing connectivity measures specifically at the European scale has been limited. This report presents a coherent methodological framework and guidelines for mapping functional and structural connectivity at the European scale, as part of the Horizon Europe NaturaConnect project, which is supporting EU Member States in developing a coherent TEN-N of protected and conserved areas. It describes key ecological connectivity concepts and approaches; outlines methods and tools for estimating connectivity; presents an overview of connectivity projects across Europe; identifies connectivity priorities, gaps and challenges following a stakeholder consultation process; and provides practical and operational guidelines for implementing ecological connectivity for conservation projects ranging from regional to national and European levels. The guidelines present a strategic blueprint aimed at enhancing ecological connectivity across Europe, and address the specific challenges and opportunities related to planning ecological connectivity in the European context. This report has been written for practitioners and individuals involved in the management and administration of protected areas and ecological connectivity projects across Europe. This includes professionals working in TEN-N implementation at national or regional levels, others involved in spatial planning outside protected areas, and professionals engaged in the implementation of connectivity projects and protected area management.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e128550

Authors: Martin Baptist, Richard Marijnissen, Grzegorz Różyński, Rosaria Ester Musumeci, Massimiliano Marino, Laura Borzi, Agata di Stefano, Morgane Jolivet, Alice Stocco, Fabienne Horneman, Silvia Rova, Silvia Torresan, Elisa Furlan, Caterina Dabalà, Francesca Coccon, Andrea Critto, Fabio Pranovi, Ferran Bertomeu, Carles Ibáñez, Nuno Caiola, Elitsa Hineva, Nataliya Andreeva, Petya Eftimova, Bogdan Prodanov, Valentina Doncheva, Nikolay Valchev, Shylee Berg, Mathis Cognat

Abstract: This deliverable presents the generation of EUNIS habitat maps for Europe as a whole and for each of the pilot areas in REST-COAST. Subsequently, it presents the assignment of semi-quantitative scores for the contribution of each EUNIS (sub)habitat to the five key ecosystem services applying the rank scale 0 (none), 1 (very low contribution), 2 (low contribution), 3 (medium contribution), 4 (high contribution) to 5 (very high contribution). It also describes the assignment of the IUCN Red List of Habitats to each of the depicted EUNIS (sub)habitats in the pilot areas. And finally, to assess coastal system behaviour and restoration effects on ecosystem services and biodiversity gains under climate change, a homogenised score card methodology is presented to overcome the problem of comparing minor changes (some percents) with major changes (tens of percents) in the total scores for ESS or BDV in each pilot area.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e128158

Authors: Helge Bruelheide, Ute Jandt, Néstor Fernández, Andres Marmol-Guijarro, Bruno Smets, Marcel Buchhorn, Lori Giagnacovo, Giorgia Milli, Borja Jimenez-Alfaro, Jose Manuel Álvarez-Martínez

Abstract: The report demonstrates the potential workflows to leverage monitoring data on biodiversity to assess the status of two selected habitats of the Habitats Directive, Nardus grasslands (EU habitats directive Annex I 6230*) and forest dominated by Fagus sylvatica on acidic soils (habitat 9110).

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e119131

Authors: Ana Ceia-Hasse, Judy Shamoun-Baranes, Néstor Fernández, Henrique Pereira, César Capinha

Abstract: A relevant number of ecological questions raised by policymakers, managers, and citizens often pertain to the short-term future (e.g., the coming days or weeks). In this sense, short-term ecological and biological forecasts can make substantial and practical contributions to achieving policy objectives and benefit society broadly. Specifically, short-term forecasts of Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) and Essential Ecosystem Service Variables (EESVs) can support decision-making by stakeholders from multiple sectors, enabling to anticipate ecological transformations and support proactive, informed decisions that promote conservation, economic activities, and human well-being.The aim of this task was to demonstrate how a European Biodiversity Observation Network can support the generation of short-term spatial forecasts of ecological and biological phenomena relevant to the Bioeconomy Strategy and to EU citizens at large. Our specific objectives included showcasing 1) a computational workflow that enables the production of days-ahead forecasts for distinct ecological or biological phenomena and 2) a specialized computational workflow for days-ahead forecasts of bird aerial biomass. The first, (‘generic’) workflow, is exemplified using two case studies: i) forecasting the fruiting of a wild mushroom of commercial and recreational relevance, and ii) forecasting the life stage of relevance for surveillance of an invasive pest species important for agriculture. These case studies aim to demonstrate specific, tangible contributions that short-term ecological forecasting can make towards the sustainable use of bio-based economy sectors, ecosystem protection, and anticipation of ecological risks. Beyond aligning with the EU Bioeconomy Strategy, our three forecasting targets also offer relevant contributions to a wider range of EU strategies and policies.We actively involved stakeholders in defining the end-products and in the development of computational modelling approaches of the workflows. This process entailed two distinct approaches. For the generic forecasting workflow, we engaged in a participatory process from the project's start, focusing on stakeholders involved in mushroom foraging and experts in mycology and ecological modelling. For the bird aerial biomass forecasting workflow, we built upon substantial developments that predated the project, with our engagement primarily drawing on insights and input from earlier initiatives. The two workflows serve complementary purposes in terms of the primary data they use. While the first (generic) workflow is based on the growing body of opportunistic biodiversity observation data, particularly from citizen science initiatives, the second workflow requires highly specialized radar data from weather stations. However, both workflows use predictor data from weather observations and forecasts and employ machine learning algorithms to correlate these data with observed variations in the phenomena being forecasted.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e115410

Authors: Fausto Favero, Lieke Hüsken, Jochen Hinkel, Heleen Vreugdenhi, Umberto Pernice, Michael Sedlmeier

Abstract: This deliverable is the first contribution of Work Package 3 to the REST-COAST Project. The overarching purpose of REST-COAST is to provide the tools to address some of the key challenges faced by coastal ecosystems restoration. To achieve this objective, REST-COAST will improve coastal restoration practice and techniques through new hands-on restoration pilot projects, co-design effective governance arrangements and policies, and generate new tools and data for risk reduction assessment. In addition to these activities, Work Package 3 will design innovative financial arrangements and bankable business plans to support the implementation and thescaling up of coastal ecosystem restoration.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e115409

Authors: Gabriela Popova, Iliyana Demirova, Boris Barov

Abstract: The main goals of WP6 Dissemination, exploitation and social transformation tools, are to establish and maintain a distinct project identity, as well as to maximise the impact of project results by marketing andcommunicating them to stakeholders and the broader public. To ensure the efficient communication, Pensoft has developed a number of promotional materials reflecting the REST-COAST corporate identity, aswell as a project website.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e114825

Authors: Carles Ibáñez, Alba Alemany, Ferran Bertomeu, Silvia Frias, Judith Molero, Roberto Merciai, Laura Puertolas

Abstract: Coastal regions provide some of the most productive and biodiverse environments with an important and often underappreciated carbon storage potential. At the same time, they are among the areas of highest population density, natural assets, and cultural heritage in the world, yet are experiencing significant social, economic and environmental challenges, exacerbated by climate change and human pressures.The Rest-Coast Project (Large scale RESToration of COASTal ecosystems through rivers to sea connectivity) is an EU Horizon 2020 research project (Grant agreement No. 101037097) whose overall goal is to address with effective and innovative tools the key challenges faced by coastal ecosystem restoration across Europe. The approach chosen for this project will deliver a highly interdisciplinary contribution, with the demonstration of improved practices and techniques for hands-on ecosystem restoration across several pilot sites, supported by the co-design of innovative governance and financial arrangements, as well as an effective strategy for the dissemination of results.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e114824

Authors: Carla Danelutti, Emmi Lindqvist, Maria del Mar Otero, Mindert de Vries, Albert Vos, Nuno Caiola, Vicente Gracia, Nil Alvarez, Laura Puertolas, Jaime Ordonez, Silvia Torresan, Caterina Dabalà, Francesca Coccon, Grzegorz Różyński, Nikolay Valchev, Nataliya Andreeva, Elitsa Hineva, Olivier Boutron, Rosaria Ester Musumeci, Massimiliano Marino, Christophe Briere, Julien Dalle, Margot Defoort-Levkov, Margot Ahr, Yael Salame-Rubin, Simon Nemtzov, Avi Uzan

Abstract: Coastal regions provide some of the most productive and biodiverse environments with an important and often underappreciated carbon storage potential. At the same time, they are among the areas of highest population density, natural assets and cultural heritage in the world, yet are experiencing significant social, economic and environmental challenges, exacerbated by climate change and human pressures.The REST-COAST project (Large scale RESToration of COASTal ecosystems through rivers to sea connectivity) will demonstrate to what extent upscaled coastal restoration can provide a low-carbon adaptation, reducing risks and providing gains in biodiversity for vulnerable coastal ecosystems, such as wetlands or sea grass beds. By overcoming present technical, economic, governance and social barriers to restoration upscaling, REST-COAST will develop the large scale river-coast connectivity and increase the nearshore accommodation space for the resilient delivery of coastal ecosystem services (ESs). The selected ESs (risk reduction, environmental quality and fish provisioning) touch urgent coastal problems such as the erosion/flooding during recent storms or the accelerating coastal habitat degradation that seriously affects fisheries and aquaculture. Combining new techniques, risk assessments, innovative financial/governance arrangements and homogeneous metrics for ESs and biodiversity, REST-COAST will develop a systemic approach to coastal restoration based on a scalable coastal adaptation plan.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e106369

Authors: Christos Arvanitidis, Ron Dekker, Andreas Petzold, Niklas Blomberg, Giovanni Lamanna, Rudolf Dimper, Cristina Isabel Huertas Olivares, Ana Mellado, Matthew Viljoen, Sally Chambers, Montserrat González, Sophie Viscido

Abstract: The Special Collection of articles on the Science Projects of the EOSC Future project, funded by the European Commission, refers to one of the essential components of the project. This editorial article explains how the Science Projects fit to the EOSC Future, the way their concept has been developed and evolved during the preparation and the implementation of the project and it also makes an introduction to the templates developed by the Science Projects as a plan to carry out their activities.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e104251

Authors: Hannah Moersberger, Juliette G. C. Martin, Jessi Junker, Ivelina Georgieva, Joachim Maes, Ian McCallum, Henrique M. Pereira, Aletta Bonn

Abstract: In order to assess user and policy needs related to biodiversity monitoring and data, the EuropaBON project invited national experts to fill in this survey in August 2021. The survey was tailored to the national level and aimed at identifying current monitoring efforts, data flows from collection to reporting, data uptake by policymaking, challenges and roadblocks, as well as biodiversity variables and indicators for a desirable future. On behalf of the European Commission (DG Environment) and EuropaBON, the surveys were sent out to all national focal points of the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) as well as key national agencies. Eionet is a partnership network of the European Environment Agency (EEA) and its 38 member and cooperating countries to gather and develop data, knowledge, and advice to policy makers about Europe's environment. The results of our surveys form the basis for the analysis of the EuropaBON User and Policy Needs Assessment (DOI) and inform the design of the Europa Biodiversity Observation Network and its work programme. We published the original responses of survey sections A and B in the annex of the User and Policy Needs Assessment. Responses of section C were synthesised in the assessment.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e104168

Authors: Hannah Moersberger, Juliette G. C. Martin, Jessi Junker, Ivelina Georgieva, Joachim Maes, Ian McCallum, Henrique M. Pereira, Aletta Bonn

Abstract: In order to assess user and policy needs related to biodiversity monitoring and data, the EuropaBON project invited European experts to fill in this survey in August 2021. The survey was tailored to the European level and aimed at identifying current monitoring efforts, data flows from collection to reporting, data uptake by policymaking, challenges and roadblocks, as well as biodiversity variables and indicators for a desirable future. On behalf of the European Commission (DG Environment) and EuropaBON, the surveys were sent out to key European agencies (e.g., DG ENV, DG AGRI, DG CLIMA, EEA, Eurostat, Biodiversa+). The results of our surveys form the basis for the analysis of the EuropaBON User and Policy Needs Assessment (DOI) and inform the design of the Europa Biodiversity Observation Network and its work programme. We published the original responses of survey sections A and B in the annex of the User and Policy Needs Assessment. Responses of section C were synthesised in the assessment.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e102530

Authors: Jessi Junker, Pedro Beja, Lluís Brotons, Miguel Fernandez, Néstor Fernández, W. Daniel Kissling, Maria Lumbierres, Anne Lyche Solheim, Joachim Maes, Alejandra Morán-Ordóñez, Francisco Moreira, Martin Musche, Joana Santana, Jose Valdez, Henrique Pereira

Abstract: EuropaBON harnesses the power of modelling Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) to integrate different reporting streams, data sources, and monitoring schemes, and measure biodiversity change across multiple dimensions in space and time. Therefore, EBVs are at the core of the project and form the basis for several of the tasks feeding into the co-design of a biodiversity monitoring system for Europe. In this document, we describe the stepwise process of identifying and specifying the EBVs in the EBV list presented in this deliverable. We further provide a summary of the characteristics of the EBVs identified for EuropaBON, in terms of their desired spatial- and temporal resolutions, as well as the taxonomic/ ecosystem scope to be measured.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e99679

Authors: Elena Velado-Alonso, Ignasi Bartomeus, Kira Keini, Suresh Chithathur, Anna Sapundzhieva, Alexandra Korcheva, David Kleijn

Abstract: Communication and dissemination are key elements to maximise SHOWCASE project impact and ensure long‐term effects. For that, an effective communication strategy is essential to convey the principles and best practices to integrate biodiversity in farm management to favour farmers’ livelihoods while promoting conservation in agricultural landscapes. Current discourses around biodiversity, nature conservation and farming are contradictory with each other and not always engaging for SHOWCASE stakeholders. Thus, an inspirational narrative has been developed in the first months of the project by WP4 “Communicating the benefits of agrobiodiversity through multistakeholder knowledge exchange”, task 4.1. SHOWCASE narrative explains in an effective manner 1) why people care about biodiversity; 2) what we can do, and; 3) how we can do it better.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.8.e96714

Authors: Heidi Murray

Abstract: The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District (FKMCD) is an independent taxing district in Monroe County, Florida. The mission of FKMCD is to protect the community and visitors of the Florida Keys from mosquito-borne disease and prevent nuisance mosquitoes from impacting the quality of life of its citizens and the local economy. The State of Florida requires mosquito control programmes to provide recorded evidence of mosquito activity prior to pesticide application. Surveillance is an appropriate method to record the abundance and mosquito species present in an area to determine if adulticide applications are necessary. Mosquito surveillance traps have been set by FKMCD since 1998. Trapping is conducted throughout the District to document species composition and abundance. Mosquito surveillance is used for operational decisions for both nuisance mosquitoes and disease vectors.This dataset includes previously unreported mosquito trapping results in Monroe County, Florida. This dataset includes trap results collected from CDC light traps and BG Sentinel traps set weekly on Vaca Key, Flamingo Island, Key Colony Beach, Fat Deer Key, Crawl Key, Long Point Key, Grassy Key, Long Key and Lower Matecumbe Key from 1 January 2018 through to 31 December 2021.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e93506

Authors: Lena Luise Schaller, Verena Scherfranz, Kati Häfner, Fabian Klebl, Jabier Ruiz, Jochen Kantelhardt, Annette Piorr

Abstract: This document represents Deliverable 2.1 “Overview of regulatory and incentive instruments for biodiversity management on farms” within WP2 „Identifying incentives to promote biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes“ of the EU Horizon 2020 project SHOWCASE. It reports the outcomes of WP2 Task 2.1 “Evaluating regulatory and incentive instruments for biodiversity management on farms”.In the 1st and 2nd chapter, the report gives a short introduction of the deliverable’s objectives, the tasks addressed, the report’s outline and the main focus of the literature review.Chapter 3 gives an overview of the main laws governing biodiversity protection in the European Union. The main elements of the Birds and Habitats directives are presented, alongside other biodiversity laws and policies, with a focus on the obligations and requirements they set on agriculture in order to protect European native wildlife. Chapter 3 also covers the features of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy that operate as a regulatory baseline for all beneficiaries of farm subsidies, i.e., cross-compliance and greening requirements under the current CAP and the new conditionality in the CAP 2023-2027.Chapter 4 gives an overview of economic and non-economic approaches potentially promoting farmers’ pro-biodiversity behaviour. Whereas economically oriented approaches imply positive or negative monetary flows – compensation payments or rewards vs. penalties – to motivate farmers to implement biodiversity-friendly management practices or to prevent them from harming biodiversity, partnerships and networks steer farmers’ behaviour through agreeing on a common goal and working towards it by sharing resources, skills and risk. With regards to the agricultural focus of SHOWCASE, Chapter 4 looks in more detail at the incentives provided by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union. This covers both the current and future CAP, with an overview of how the novel eco-schemes can provide new incentives for farmers to adopt biodiversity friendly practices.Chapter 5 looks into how the combination of regulatory frameworks and incentives operate in practice for farmers in the EU. To this end, grey literature and European Commission publications related to farming for biodiversity have been reviewed. A specific focus is set on biodiversity-friendly farming in Natura 2000 sites, as central exemplary areas of continuous and long-lasting efforts in biodiversity conservation. This is followed by revising some of the main conclusions from very recent grey literature assessing the successes and failures of the CAP in relation to biodiversity.Chapter 6 provides an overview of approaches that have already been implemented to incentivize farmers’ pro-biodiversity behaviour. Based on grey literature, various types of approaches – i. e. focusing on plot or farm level, land tenure or the entire value chain, building on organic farming or including market-based, value-based or measure-based mechanisms – were identified within the EBA countries, further EU member states and selected western countries outside the EU. In sum, 62 examples of pro-biodiversity schemes were included in the further analysis representing highly divergent incentivizing mechanisms and the most important agricultural systems of the EBAs as well as in consequence serving as an information platform for further EBA scheme design activities.Based on the preceding chapters and their focus on result-based approaches, Chapter 7 casts a critical eye on their suitability with regards to various regulatory, policy, social and administrative contexts also considering potential national differences. On the international level, WTO requirements such as Green Box rules are a limiting factor with regards to result- based payment modalities and thus scheme design. On the national and regional level, issues to be considered include long-term availability of funding, guaranteeing additionality if requested, stakeholders’ and decision-makers’ attitudes towards agri-environment-climate measures in general as well as towards result-oriented approaches specifically, availability of suitable indicators and IT-systems, access to extension services and profound know-how of farmers and public authorities regarding the interlinkages between biodiversity and farming practices. On individual level, farmers’ trust in involved institutions and their willingness to participate are additionally discussed as highly relevant factors affecting the suitability of result- based approaches.In Chapter 8 a structured overview on factors influencing farmers’ willingness to promote biodiversity by implementing voluntary biodiversity measures is presented. Based on the review of scientific literature, the chapter describes several determinants which have been identified along three scales, i.e. 1) society, community and landscape, 2) farm scale, and 3) farmers’ intrinsic factors. The main influencing factors at the first scale range from the design of policies, to economic aspects, to socio-cultural norms. The second scale encompasses relevant farm characteristics, such as farm type and size to field conditions. For the farmers’ intrinsic factors age, education, experience, and self-identity play an important role. However, it is important to make a distinction between farmers’ willingness to participate in schemes and their actual behaviour, because the latter is determined by their ability to do so.Chapter 9 closes the Deliverable by giving an outlook on the further use of the results for scientific analyses within SHOWCASE, supporting mainly the work of designing interventions in WP1 and of developing surveys and model designs in WP2, as well as providing a basis for communication and policy recommendation material for WP4.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e93508

Authors: Alexandra Korcheva, Anna Sapundzhieva, Ignasi Bartomeus

Abstract: The SHOWCASE DMP is structured into five sections, which aim to establish the scope and terms of use of research data within the project in accordance with the Horizon 2020 requirements of data management.The first section provides an introduction to the plan, which outlines the main data management practices that SHOWCASE would implement throughout the five-year project duration, as well as aspects of sustainable management of results and data after the conclusion of the project period.The second section of the document provides an overview of the commitments that SHOWCASE has made in relation to handling data in a controlled and transparent way, and ensuring an open access to research data and results in line with the EU’s Open Research Data Pilot and FAIR data management.The third section describes the details of data management within the project, focusing on different aspects of the process - from data collection, through data processing, to storage and access provision. The section features information on personal data protection in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as well as a break-down of the research data usage into project work packages. Recommendations for relevant data management practices are described in the section.The fourth section includes an overview of the specific data management details for the project work packages. The specific data formats and data management requirements of work packages are described.The fifth section of the DMP features concluding remarks on the data management strategy adopted by the project, and it outlines future updates and additions to the plan, which are going to be presented at a later stage of the project’s development.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e93507

Authors: Andrew Ruck, Erik Öckinger, Rene van der Wal, Alice Mauchline, Amelia Hood, Simon Potts, Michiel Wallis De Vries, Sabrina Gaba, Vincent Bretagnolle

Abstract: This report was researched and written between April and December 2021 by researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), with support from partners at the University of Reading (UK), De Vlinderstichting (Netherlands), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France). The report consists of a review of existing 'citizen science’ approaches to monitoring biodiversity on farmland, in which we introduce a typology of five different types of approach, and highlight the strengths and weaknesses of these. This forms part of the project “SHOWCASing synergies between agriculture, biodiversity and Ecosystem services to help farmers capitalising on native biodiversity” (SHOWCASE). SHOWCASE aims to encourage the widespread uptake of biodiversity-friendly farming practices across Europe, both through identifying effective incentives for farmers, and gathering further evidence of the ecosystem services provided by increased levels of biodiversity. The project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No.862480. In particular, this report fulfils Deliverable 3.8 within SHOWCASE: “A review of existing citizen science approaches to monitoring farmland biodiversity, including an overview of the different statistical approaches to handling citizen science data”. We at SLU are grateful to all SHOWCASE partners for their contributions.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e93511

Authors: Anna Sapundzhieva, Alexandra Korcheva, Georgi Zhelezov

Abstract: The following report presents the initial project branding and marketing products that showcase the project’s visual identity and overall corporate appearance.As a foundation of the future effective communication activities, a sound set of working dissemination tools and materials is crucial to be established within the first months of the project. A project logo, project promotional materials, overall visual identity package, and a public website (www.showcase-project.eu) were developed in the first 4 months of the project duration in order to form the main tools of project public visibility and internal communication.The project is provided with a logo that has been communicated and coordinated with all project partners. Dissemination materials such as the SHOWCASE brochure and poster were produced for raising awareness and engaging stakeholders at events. A project brand manual was created and circulated among project partners in order to provide a consistent visual representation of the project. A set of corporate templates was also produced and made available to the consortium partners to facilitate future dissemination and reporting activities such as letters, milestones and deliverable reports, PowerPoint presentations, etc. The project website is developed as the main dissemination channel.The longer‐term impact of the project's results will be secured by maintaining the website for a minimum of 5 years after the end of the project.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e93505

Authors: Vincent Bretagnolle, Sabrina Gaba, Amelia Hood, Simon Potts

Abstract: SHOWCASE’s first step is to create a European network of local Experimental Biodiversity Areas (EBAs), that will be used to co-develop (though to varying degrees) and test successful strategies for better integrating biodiversity into farming. EBAs are located across a wide range of agro-ecosystems and represent farming systems undergoing both intensification as well as agricultural abandonment. Rather than creating new sites for the network, the approach in SHOWCASE was that EBAs would be developed mostly from existing collaborations between scientists and practitioners. The first work Package of SHOWCASE, WP1, has built in the 10 countries an experimental and knowledge exchange network in agricultural landscapes across Europe. Existing collaborations include LTSER platforms from eLTER RI, farmer cooperatives, farming research organisations and conservation organisations. These are well-established multi-actor networks already undertaking knowledge exchange, participatory research and innovation activities. Then, participatory approaches with farmers, administrators and other stakeholders are defining operational biodiversity targets at field/farm/regional level by discussing the types and extents of biodiversity indicators that should be used. WP1 thus is building our EBA network, with each EBA serving both as a local testbed for developing and implementing novel interventions and as a knowledge exchange hub. This is a pan-European network of Experimental Biodiversity Areas. In these EBAs multi-actor communities (growers, extension workers, researchers, NGOs, citizens etc.) work together to co-develop, co-manage, co-monitor and co-evaluate biodiversity innovations to enhance farm production, wildlife protection, livelihood quality and resilience of social-ecological production systems. These multi-actor communities will i) identify and prioritise local or regional challenges of biodiversity-agricultural production trade-offs, and ii) co-formulate and test potential solutions. However, to add value at the European level and allow up- scaling and out-scaling of solutions, it is essential to have a common framework and set of core standardised methodologies and measures used by all EBAs. EBAs are expected to be somewhat representative of Europe, in terms of biogeography, farming system or agricultural intensification/abandonment. However, all EBAs are starting from different points. One main target was to develop the network of EBAs based on a core approach, though place-based, in order to provide local solutions to local challenges. A conceptual representation of an EBA is given below illustrating how each EBA will be the fundamental base and operational platform integrating the various Tasks of WP1.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e93509

Authors: Anna Sapundzhieva, Alexandra Korcheva, Nikol Yovcheva

Abstract: Communication, dissemination and exploitation play a vital role within SHOWCASE as the main means of ensuring knowledge transfer and uptake of results during the project lifetime and after the project is concluded. The project’s strategic objectives and target groups, as well as the key messages and narratives that the project aims to communicate serve as an orientation in the project’s actions in the relevant field. The current Plan for Exploitation and Dissemination of Results (PEDR) has been developed to define target-specific objectives and outline concrete implementation actions.The SHOWCASE PEDR represents a document that aims to guide the communication and dissemination efforts to target project-relevant audiences, convey clear, understandable, coordinated and effective messages, and reach out project results to all interested parties within the various stakeholder groups.The plan presents the different communication and dissemination tools, structured in an implementation plan according to the different target groups and different stage of development of the project. It also provides a list of tailored key performance indicators (KPI) for the project’s outreach activities that aim to provide a means to quantitatively monitor the effectiveness of dissemination activities. Indicative time schedule for implementation and updates is provided.In addition, this document will identify key project results, which will be a subject of exploitation.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e93510

Authors: Lena Luise Schaller, Verena Scherfranz, Kati Häfner, Fabian Klebl, Jabier Ruiz, Jochen Kantelhardt, Annette Piorr

Abstract: Regulatory and incentive instruments for biodiversity management on farms (Short summary for practitioners)

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e84517

Authors: Hannah Moersberger, Juliette G. C. Martin, Jessi Junker, Ivelina Georgieva, Silke Bauer, Pedro Beja, Tom Breeze, Lluís Brotons, Helge Bruelheide, Néstor Fernández, Miguel Fernandez, Ute Jandt, Christian Langer, Anne Lyche Solheim, Joachim Maes, Francisco Moreira, Guy Pe'er, Joana Santana, Judy Shamoun-Baranes, Bruno Smets, Jose Valdez, Ian McCallum, Henrique M. Pereira, Aletta Bonn

Abstract: In this report, we present the analysis of the different available biodiversity data streams at the EU and national level, both baseline biodiversity data and monitoring data. We assess how these biodiversity data inform and trigger policy action and identify the related challenges the different European countries and relevant EU agencies face and the solutions to overcome them. To do this, we consulted with more than 350 expert stakeholders from policy, research and practice. The assessment identified a fragmented biodiversity data landscape that cannot currently easily answer all relevant policy questions. Quantity and quality of biodiversity baseline datasets differ for the different countries, ranging from non-existent biodiversity monitoring due to capacity issues, to regular monitoring of ecosystem processes and state. By engaging stakeholders and experts in both member states and non-member states and from several EU bodies, we identified key challenges and ways to address these with targeted solutions towards building a joint European Biodiversity Monitoring Network. Solutions include focussing on cooperation and coordination, enhanced data standardisation and sharing, as well as the use of models and new technologies. These solutions can however only be realised with dedicated funding and capacity building, in coordination with all stakeholders in partnership.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e81337

Authors: Tomáš Václavík, Fanny Langerwisch, Guy Ziv, Jodi Gunning, Arjan Gosal, Michael Beckmann, Anne Paulus, Felix Wittstock, Anna Cord, Stephanie Roilo, Cristina Domingo-Marimon, Anabel Sanchez, Annelies Broekman, Dajana Vujaklija

Abstract: This document is the first version of the Guidelines and protocols harmonizing activities across case studies of the H2020 BESTMAP project. It is intended to be updated in month 40 (D1.8).

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e81207

Authors: Henrique M. Pereira, Jessi Junker, Néstor Fernández, Joachim Maes, Pedro Beja, Aletta Bonn, Tom Breeze, Lluís Brotons, Helge Bruelheide, Marcel Buchhorn, César Capinha, Cher Chow, Karolin Dietrich, Maria Dornelas, Grégoire Dubois, Miguel Fernandez, Mark Frenzel, Nikolai Friberg, Steffen Fritz, Ivelina Georgieva, Anne Gobin, Carlos Guerra, Sigrid Haande, Sergi Herrando, Ute Jandt, W. Daniel Kissling, Ingolf Kühn, Christian Langer, Camino Liquete, Anne Lyche Solheim, David Martí, Juliette G. C. Martin, Annett Masur, Ian McCallum, Marit Mjelde, Jannicke Moe, Hannah Moersberger, Alejandra Morán-Ordóñez, Francisco Moreira, Martin Musche, Laetitia M. Navarro, Alberto Orgiazzi, Robert Patchett, Lyubomir Penev, Joan Pino, Gabriela Popova, Simon Potts, Anna Ramon, Leonard Sandin, Joana Santana, Anna Sapundzhieva, Linda See, Judy Shamoun-Baranes, Bruno Smets, Pavel Stoev, Leho Tedersoo, Liis Tiimann, Jose Valdez, Sara Vallecillo, Roy H. A. Van Grunsven, Ruben Van De Kerchove, Dani Villero, Piero Visconti, Claudia Weinhold, Annika M. Zuleger

Abstract: Observations are key to understand the drivers of biodiversity loss, and the impacts on ecosystem services and ultimately on people. Many EU policies and initiatives demand unbiased, integrated and regularly updated biodiversity and ecosystem service data. However, efforts to monitor biodiversity are spatially and temporally fragmented, taxonomically biased, and lack integration in Europe. EuropaBON aims to bridge this gap by designing an EU-wide framework for monitoring biodiversity and ecosystem services. EuropaBON harnesses the power of modelling essential variables to integrate different reporting streams, data sources, and monitoring schemes. These essential variables provide consistent knowledge about multiple dimensions of biodiversity change across space and time. They can then be analyzed and synthesized to support decision-making at different spatial scales, from the sub-national to the European scale, through the production of indicators and scenarios. To develop essential biodiversity and ecosystem variables workflows that are policy relevant, EuropaBON is built around stakeholder engagement and knowledge exchange (WP2). EuropaBON will work with stakeholders to identify user and policy needs for biodiversity monitoring and investigate the feasibility of setting up a center to coordinate monitoring activities across Europe (WP2). Together with stakeholders, EuropaBON will assess current monitoring efforts to identify gaps, data and workflow bottlenecks, and analyse cost-effectiveness of different schemes (WP3). This will be used to co-design improved monitoring schemes using novel technologies to become more representative temporally, spatially and taxonomically, delivering multiple benefits to users and society (WP4). Finally, EuropaBON will demonstrate in a set of showcases how workflows tailored to the Birds Directive, Habitats Directive, Water Framework Directive, Climate and Restoration Policy, and the Bioeconomy Strategy, can be implemented (WP5).

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.7.e73768

Authors: Lawrence J. Hribar

Abstract: The Florida Keys Mosquito Control District deploys dry ice-baited light traps to monitor mosquito populations throughout the Florida Keys. Cross Key is an island directly north of Key Largo and via bridges it serves as a link between Key Largo and mainland Florida.This paper describes a data set compiled from trap collections on Cross Key, Florida, between September 23, 2002 and March 1, 2016.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e72231

Authors: Mark Brown, Tom Breeze, Philippe Bulet, Marie-Pierre Chauzat, Iliyana Demirova, Joachim de Miranda, Alexandra-Maria Klein, Marika Mand, Teodor Metodiev, Denis Michez, Franceso Nazzi, Peter Neumann, Robert Paxton, Simon Potts, Jane Stout, Gail Turney, Orlando Yañez

Abstract: PoshBee is a 5-year funded project (2018-2023) that aims to support healthy bee populations, sustainable beekeeping, and consequently pollination for crops and wildflowers across Europe. To do this we take a range of approaches, from the laboratory to the field, from molecules to ecosystems, and from fundamental science to risk assessment. This document is an edited version of the original funding proposal that was submitted to the European Commission.

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DOI: 10.3897/arphapreprints.e70983

Authors: Blánaid White, Fiona Regan, Miguel Caetano, German Rodriguez, Iratxe Mentxaka, Joana Larreta, Maria Jesus Belzunce, Florence Menet-Nedelec, Isabelle Amouroux, Jean-Louis Gonzalez, Stephane Guesdon, Philippe Bersuder, Thi Bolam, Barbara Marras, Marco Schintu, Natalia Montero, Margarida Correia dos Santos, Craig D. Robinson, Brendan McHugh, Gary R. Fones, Hao Zhang

Abstract: This good practice guide is focused on the DGT devices, which are the most widely used passive sampler for metals, covering the following aspects:■ Principle■ Handling passive sampling devices for metals■ Estimation of appropriate field deployment time■ A Good Practice Guide for the Use of DGTs■ Passive sampling device preparation and assembly■ Selection of sampling site and safety precautions■ Passive sampling device deployment and retrieval■ Extraction of analytes from passive sampling devices■ Analysis■ Calculations

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.5.e36159

Authors: Lawrence J. Hribar

Abstract:

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e32449

Authors: Katja Seltmann, Sara Lafia, Deborah Paul, Shelley James, David Bloom, Nelson Rios, Shari Ellis, Una Farrell, Jessica Utrup, Michael Yost, Edward Davis, Rob Emery, Gary Motz, Julien Kimmig, Vaughn Shirey, Emily Sandall, Daniel Park, Christopher Tyrrell, R. Sean Thackurdeen, Matthew Collins, Vincent O'Leary, Heather Prestridge, Christopher Evelyn, Ben Nyberg

Abstract: Georeferencing is the process of aligning a text description of a geographic location with a spatial location based on a geographic coordinate system. Training aids are commonly created around the georeferencing process to disseminate community standards and ideas, guide accurate georeferencing, inform users about new tools, and help users evaluate existing geospatial data. The Georeferencing for Research Use (GRU) workshop was implemented as a training aid that focused on the creation and research use of geospatial coordinates, and included both data researchers and data providers, to facilitate communication between the groups. The workshop included 23 participants with a wide background of expertise ranging from students (undergraduate and graduate), professors, researchers and educators, scientific data managers, natural history collections personnel, and spatial analyst specialists. The conversations and survey results from this workshop demonstrate that it is important to provide opportunities for biocollections data providers to interact directly with the researchers using the data they produce and vice versa.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e28045

Authors: Evelyn Underwood, Katie Taylor, Graham Tucker

Abstract: This review identifies successful approaches to collating and using biodiversity data in spatial planning and impact assessment, the barriers to obtaining and using existing data sources, and the key data gaps that hinder effective implementation. The analysis is a contribution to the EU BON project funded by the European Commission FP7 research programme, which aimed to identify and pilot new approaches to overcome gaps in biodiversity data in conservation policy at European and national levels. The consideration of biodiversity in impact assessments and spatial planning requires spatially explicit biodiversity data of various types. Where spatial plans take account of biodiversity, there are opportunities through Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of development plans and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of individual development proposals to ensure that consented activities are consistent with no net loss of biodiversity or even a net gain, and help to maintain or develop coherent ecological networks. However, biodiversity components of SEAs and EIAs have often been found to be of insufficient quality due to the lack of data or the inadequate use of existing data. Key obstacles to providing access to biodiversity data include the need for data standardisation and data quality governance and systems, licensing approaches to increase data access, and lack of resources to target gaps in data coverage and to develop and advertise policy-relevant data products. Existing data platforms differ in the degree to which they successfully provide a service to spatial planners and impact assessment practitioners. Some local governments, for example Somerset County Council in the UK and the Bremen federal state in Germany, have invested in integrated data collection and management systems that now provide intensively used tools for spatial planning and impact assessment informed by local data collection and monitoring. The EU BON biodiversity data portal aims to provide a platform that is an access point to datasets relevant to essential biodiversity variables on species, habitats and ecosystems. The EU BON taxonomic backbone provides an integrated search function for species and taxa according to different classifications, and also provides a range of tools for data analysis and decision-support. This will increase the accessibility of the vast range of biodiversity data available in different sources and allow the targeting of future data collection to address current gaps.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e25742

Authors: Lilliana Sancho-Chavarria, Fabian Beck, Daniel Weiskopf, Erick Mata-Montero

Abstract: Maintenance and curation of large-sized biological taxonomies are complex and laborious activities. Information visualization systems use interactive visual interfaces to facilitate analytical reasoning on complex information. Several approaches such as treemaps, indented lists, cone trees, radial trees, and many others have been used to visualize and analyze a single taxonomy. In addition, methods such as edge drawing, animation, and matrix representations have been used for comparing trees. Visualizing similarities and differences between two or more large taxonomies is harder than the visualization of a single taxonomy. On one hand, less space is available on the screen to display each tree; on the other hand, differences should be highlighted. The comparison of two alternative taxonomies and the analysis of a taxonomy as it evolves over time provide fundamental information to taxonomists and global initiatives that promote standardization and integration of taxonomic databases to better document biodiversity and support its conservation. In this work we assess how ten user visualization tasks for the curation of biological taxonomies are supported by several visualization tools. Tasks include the identification of conditions such as congruent taxa, splits, merges, and new species added to a taxonomy. We consider tools that have gone beyond the prototype stage, that have been described in peer-reviewed publications, or are in current use. We conclude with the identification of challenges for future development of taxonomy comparison tools.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e25301

Authors: Carol X. Garzon-Lopez, Tarek Hattab, Sandra Skowronek, Raf Aerts, Michael Ewald, Hannes Feilhauer, Olivier Honnay, Guillaume Decocq, Ruben Van De Kerchove, Ben Somers, Sebastian Schmidtlein, Duccio Rocchini, Jonathan Lenoir

Abstract: The synergies between remote sensing technologies and ecological research have opened new avenues for the study of alien plant invasions worldwide. Such scientific advances have greatly improved our capacity to issue warnings, develop early-response systems and assess the impacts of alien plant invasions on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Hitherto, practical applications of remote sensing approaches to support nature conservation actions are lagging far behind scientific advances. Yet, for some of these technologies, knowledge transfer is difficult due to the complexity of the different data handling procedures and the huge amounts of data it involves per spatial unit. In this context, the next logical step is to develop clear guidelines for the application of remote sensing data to monitor and assess the impacts of alien plant invasions, that enable scientists, landscape managers and policy makers to fully exploit the tools which are currently available. It is desirable to have such guidelines accompanied by freely available remote sensing data and generated in a free and open source environment that increases the availability and affordability of these new technologies. Here we present a toolbox that provides an easy-to-use, flexible, transparent and open source set of tools to sample, map, model and assess the impact of alien plant invasions using two high-resolution remote sensing products (hyperspectral and LiDAR images). This online toolbox includes a real case dataset designed to facilitate testing and training in any computer system and processing capacity.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.4.e23688

Authors: Nico Eisenhauer

Abstract: The positive relationship between plant diversity and ecosystem functioning is likely to be co-determined by aboveground–belowground multitrophic interactions. Considering and manipulating such interactions thus is likely to significantly improve the mechanistic understanding of BEF relationships. The present proposal comprehensively investigates long-term (>4 years) plant diversity effects on soil microorganisms, nematodes, and other soil invertebrates across different ecosystems (grassland and forest ecosystems) and global change contexts (elevated [CO2], N deposition, warming, and drought) to identify general mechanisms. Complementary and well-directed laboratory experiments will be conducted to simulate soil feedback effects resulting from plant diversity-induced changes in soil food webs. This novel approach will allow investigating the balance between negative and positive plant-soil feedback effects and the consequences for ecosystem functioning. This holistic knowledge of changes in and interactions of above- and belowground processes is crucial to predict the long-term consequences of plant community simplification for ecosystem functioning. Experimental work will be complemented with the meta-analysis of previous work in order to reconcile prior inconsistent findings. The main objective of the present proposal is to disentangle the driving forces of plant diversity effects on soil biota as well as subsequent positive and negative feedback effects on plants. In order to achieve this, the present project has four major goals: (1) investigate long-term plant diversity effects on soil biota and functions across multiple settings in order to derive general conclusions; (2) investigate the significance of plant diversity-induced positive and negative soil feedback effects on plant performance; (3) investigate if anthropogenic stressor effects reinforce plant diversity effects on soil biota and subsequent soil feedback effects; and (4) synthesize results and perform meta-analyses to understand and reconcile inconsistent findings of previous studies on plant diversity effects on soil biota, and relate subsequent changes in soil food webs to alterations in ecosystem functioning.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21774

Authors: Thibault Datry, Gabriel Singer, Eric Sauquet, Dídac Jorda-Capdevila, Daniel Von Schiller, Rachel Stubbington, Claire Magand, Petr Pařil, Marko Miliša, Vicenç Acuña, Maria Helena Alves, Bénédicte Augeard, Matthias Brunke, Núria Cid, Zoltán Csabai, Judy England, Jochen Froebrich, Phoebe Koundouri, Nicolas Lamouroux, Eugènia Martí, Manuela Morais, Antoni Munné, Michael Mutz, Vladimir Pesic, Ana Previšić, Arnaud Reynaud, Christopher Robinson, Jonathan Sadler, Nikos Skoulikidis, Benoit Terrier, Klement Tockner, David Vesely, Annamaria Zoppini

Abstract: More than half of the global river network is composed of intermittent rivers and ephemeral streams (IRES), which are expanding in response to climate change and increasing water demands. After years of obscurity, the science of IRES has bloomed recently and it is being recognised that IRES support a unique and high biodiversity, provide essential ecosystem services and are functionally part of river networks and groundwater systems. However, they still lack protective and adequate management, thereby jeopardizing water resources at the global scale. This Action brings together hydrologists, biogeochemists, ecologists, modellers, environmental economists, social researchers and stakeholders from 14 different countries to develop a research network for synthesising the fragmented, recent knowledge on IRES, improving our understanding of IRES and translating this into a science-based, sustainable management of river networks. Deliverables will be provided through i) research workshops synthesising and addressing key challenges in IRES science, supporting research exchange and educating young researchers, and ii) researcher-stakeholder workshops translating improved knowledge into tangible tools and guidelines for protecting IRES and raising awareness of their importance and value in societal and decision-maker spheres. This Action is organized within six Working Groups to address: (i) the occurrence, distribution and hydrological trends of IRES; (ii) the effects of flow alterations on IRES functions and services; (iii) the interaction of aquatic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes at catchment scale; (iv) the biomonitoring of the ecological status of IRES; (v) synergies in IRES research at the European scale, data assemblage and sharing; (vi) IRES management and advocacy training.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e21074

Authors: David Rose, Prue Addison, Malcolm Ausden, Leon Bennun, Craig Mills, Stephanie O’Donnell, Caroline Parker, Melanie Ryan, Lauren Weatherdon, Katherine Despot-Belmonte, William Sutherland, Rebecca Robertson

Abstract: A workshop held at the University of Cambridge in May 2017 brought developers, researchers, knowledge brokers, and users together to discuss user-centred design of decision support tools. Decision support tools are designed to take users through logical decision steps towards an evidence-informed final decision. Although they may exist in different forms, including on paper, decision support tools are generally considered to be computer- (online, software) or app-based. Studies have illustrated the potential value of decision support tools for conservation, and there are several papers describing the design of individual tools. Rather less attention, however, has been placed on the desirable characteristics for use, and even less on whether tools are actually being used in practice. This is concerning because if tools are not used by their intended end user, for example a policy-maker or practitioner, then its design will have wasted resources. Based on an analysis of papers on tool use in conservation, there is a lack of social science research on improving design, and relatively few examples where users have been incorporated into the design process. Evidence from other disciplines, particularly human-computer interaction research, illustrates that involving users throughout the design of decision support tools increases the relevance, usability, and impact of systems. User-centred design of tools is, however, seldom mentioned in the conservation literature. The workshop started the necessary process of bringing together developers and users to share knowledge about how to conduct good user-centred design of decision support tools. This will help to ensure that tools are usable and make an impact in conservation policy and practice.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e14944

Authors: W. Daniel Kissling

Abstract: Seed dispersal by fruit-eating animals is a pivotal ecosystem function in tropical forests, but the role that frugivores have played in the biogeography and macroevolution of species-rich tropical plant families remains largely unexplored. This project investigates how frugivory-relevant plant traits (e.g. fruit size, fruit color, fruit shape etc.) are distributed within the angiosperm family of palms (Arecaceae), how this relates to diversification rates, and whether and how it coincides with the global biogeographic distribution of vertebrate frugivores (birds, bats, primates, other frugivorous mammals) and their ecological traits (e.g. diet specialization, body size, flight ability, color vision etc.). Palms are particularly suitable because they are well studied, species-rich, characteristic of tropical rainforests, and dispersed by all groups of vertebrate seed dispersers. Using newly compiled data on species distributions and ecological traits in combination with phylogenies we will test (1) how fruit trait variability relates to palm phylogeny and other aspects of plant morphology (e.g. leaf size, plant height, growth form), (2) whether geographic variability in fruit traits correlates with geographic distributions of animal consumers and their traits, and (3) to what extent interaction-relevant plant traits are related to palm diversification rates. This combined macroecological and macroevolutionary approach allows novel insights into the global ecology and the evolution of a tropical keystone plant family. This is important for the conservation and sustainable management of tropical rainforests because palms are often key components of subsistence economies, ecosystem dynamics and carbon storage and therefore help to enhance nature’s goods, benefits and services to humanity.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e14811

Authors: Ana Cristina Cardoso, Konstantinos Tsiamis, Eugenio Gervasini, Sven Schade, Fabio Taucer, Tim Adriaens, Kyle Copas, Spyridon Flevaris, Philippe Galiay, Eleanor Jennings, Melanie Josefsson, Bernat López, John Magan, Elizabete Marchante, Elena Montani, Helen Roy, René von Schomberg, Linda See, Mafalda Quintas

Abstract: Invasive Alien Species (IAS) are a growing threat to Europe's biodiversity. The implementation of European Union Regulation on IAS can benefit from the involvement of the public in IAS recording and management through Citizen Science (CS) initiatives. Aiming to tackle issues related with the use of CS projects on IAS topics, a dedicated workshop titled “Citizen Science and Open Data: a model for Invasive Alien Species in Europe” was organized by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST Association). Fifty key stakeholders from all Europe, including two Members of the European Parliament, attended the workshop. With a clear focus on IAS, the workshop aimed at addressing the following issues: a) CS and policy, b) citizen engagement, and c) CS data management. Nine short presentations provided input on CS and IAS issues. Participants discussed specific topics in several round tables (“world café” style) and reported back their conclusions to the audience and full assembly moderated discussions. Overall, the workshop enabled the sharing of ideas, approaches and best practices regarding CS and IAS. Specific opportunities and pitfalls of using CS data in the whole policy cycle for IAS were recognized. Concerning the implementation of the IAS Regulation, CS data could complement official surveillance systems, and contribute to the early warning of the IAS of Union concern after appropriate validation by the Member States’ competent authorities. CS projects can additionally increase awareness and empower citizens. Attendees pointed out the importance for further public engagement in CS projects on IAS that demonstrate specific initiatives and approaches and analyze lessons learned from past experiences. In addition, the workshop noted that the data gathered from different CS projects on IAS are fragmented. It highlighted the need for using an open and accessible platform to upload data originating from CS sources or to mirror validated data into a single, easy-to-use web service, in line with the EU Open Science Strategic Priority. The workshop provided ten key recommendations of best practices for CS projects on IAS, addressed to researchers, policy makers and implementing authorities, indicating future research and policy directions and opportunities.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e14675

Authors: Dora Ann Lange Canhos

Abstract: The goal of the Brazil Virtual Herbarium is to facilitate the identification of taxonomic and geographic information gaps of plants and fungi of Brazil. The system displays the status of online data for all valid species in the List of Species of the Brazilian Flora, including those without any record. The system also compares the Brazilian states where specialists indicate that the species occurs with the states that have occurrence points in Brazil's Virtual Herbarium, highlighting the gaps. This data management plan was prepared as part of a pilot project run on behalf of the International Development Research Centre (Canada) on data management policy for development funders (https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.2.e8880).

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e14013

Authors: Katherine Despot-Belmonte, Michel Doudin, Quentin Groom, Florian Wetzel, Donat Agosti, Kim Jacobsen, Larissa Smirnova, Lauren V. Weatherdon, Tim Robertson, Lyubomir Penev, Eugenie Regan, Anke Hoffmann, Brian MacSharry, Yara Shennan-Farpon, Corinne S. Martin

Abstract: The EU BON (“Building the European Biodiversity Observation Network”) project has made important contributions towards the achievement of global conservation targets. This infographic illustrates EU BON's contributions towards the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Target 19 "By 2020, knowledge, the science base and technologies relating to biodiversity, its values, functioning, status and trends, and the consequences of its loss, are improved, widely shared and transferred, and applied.”

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.3.e12249

Authors: Kirsten Pearsons, István Mikó, John Tooker

Abstract: Although the greenhouse millipede, Oxidus gracilis, is distributed worldwide, there is little work using modern tools to explore its morphology. We used confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to image the cyanide glands of Oxidus gracilis. Glands from adult millipedes were dissected out before imaging, and we were able to image glands of juveniles through the cuticle due to the strong autofluorescence of the gland extract. We can report that CLSM is a promising technique to non-invasively investigate the development and mechanisms of polydesmid cyanide glands.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e11563

Authors: Veljo Runnel, Florian Wetzel, Quentin Groom, Wouter Koch, Israel Pe’er, Nils Valland, Emmanouela Panteri, Urmas Kõljalg

Abstract: Citizen science is an approach of public participation in scientific research which has gained significant momentum in recent years. This is particularly evident in biology and environmental sciences where input from citizen scientists has greatly increased the number of publicly available observation data. However, there are still challenges in effective networking, data sharing and securing data quality. EU BON project has analyzed the citizen science landscape in Europe with regards to biodiversity research and proposes several policy recommendations. One of the recommendations is a Pan-European citizen science gateway for biodiversity data with dedicated tools for data collection and management. The prototypes of the gateway components are part of the EU BON biodiversity portal and described in current report.

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e10600

Authors: Jennifer Pannell

Abstract:

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e10269

Authors: Harvey Nichols, Susann Stolze

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8827

Authors: Jennifer McWhorter, Darren Wright, Julie Thomas

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8664

Authors: Jennifer Pannell

Abstract:

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DOI: 10.3897/rio.2.e8600

Authors: Florian Wetzel, Anke Hoffmann, Christoph Häuser, Katrin Vohland

Abstract:

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